Ex post evaluation of the European fund for the integration of third-country nationals for 2011-2013 and community actions for 2007-2010 : final report

The EU established a framework for funding instruments providing a holistic approach to the management of migration, including integration, aimed at strengthening solidarity between the Member States. Within this framework, the European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals (EIF) covers the integration of legally residing non-EU Member State nationals. The ex-post evaluation covers the periods 2011-2013 for the National Programmes of the Member States and 2007-2013 for the Community Actions. The geographical scope comprises all EU Member States except Denmark and Croatia. The evaluation assesses the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence and complementarity and EU added value of the EIF, and provides recommendations for the future of the Fund. With the €468 million programmed under the EIF in 2011-2013, in total, the 3,335 projects implemented in 26 Member States reached 2,144,966 TCNS. Overall, the findings of the evaluation show that the EIF made an important contribution to the integration process of the third country nationals in the majority of Member States. The EIF enabled the implementation of actions that could not otherwise have been funded from national resources, suggesting high EU added value.