Possible irregularities in use of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in Emilia-Romagna

Subject: Possible irregularities in use of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in Emilia-Romagna

According to the latest figures in November 2019, Emilia-Romagna currently houses 9 532 migrants in total, 7 322 of them in local reception centres and 2 210 under SIPROIMI, Italy’s protection system for beneficiaries of international protection and for unaccompanied foreign minors.

The Emilia-Romagna regional executive has, since 2014, published a number of calls for tender on the basis of EU funding through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

To be specific, Emilia-Romagna was allocated EUR 12.5 million for the period 2016 to 2021 and these funds since been allotted to cooperatives, associations and municipalities for reception services through said calls for tenders. One of the beneficiaries is the consortium Arcolaio, which was responsible for running the Mattei di Bologna ‘CAS’ emergency reception centre. This centre was closed in June 2019 on account of its poor hygiene conditions, structural problems and incongruity between the public funds received and the services guaranteed but was reopened again in November 2019.

In view of the fact that EU funding from the AMIF is involved here, can the Commission say:

1. Is the Commission aware of the specific case in question and what conditions are really like at reception centres in Emilia-Romagna?

2. What checks has it carried out to attest that the aforesaid EU funds have not been used for fraudulent purposes and / or exploitation of migrants?

Answer given by Ms Johansson on behalf of the European Commission

(9 June 2020)

The Commission is not aware of the specific case in question. To date, the responsible authority for Italy’s national programme under the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) has not claimed any payments from the Commission in relation to reception centres accommodating adult migrants/asylum-seekers, such as Mattei di Bologna ‘CAS’ emergency reception centre, nor does the Commission have any other evidence that Emilia-Romagna has received funding for this centre. Since it is not funded under this fund, the centre is not subject to the monitoring reserved for projects funded under the AMIF regulation.

Pursuant to EC law, Member States have an obligation to notify to the Commission the detection of irregularities, including fraud cases, to recover EU funding unduly paid and keep the Commission informed of any significant developments in related administrative and legal proceedings. Italy has not notified the Commission of any such cases under this national programme.

The use of AMIF funds in Italy is closely monitored by the Commission. This is done through analysis of annual accounts and implementation reports, continuous monitoring, analysis of final and intermediate reports and deployment of experts on the ground in Italy.

Concretely, the controls that take place during the implementation of operations and after closure or payment are system audits by Commission auditors, verification of the accounts and ex-post audits to assess the legality and regularity of the expenditure.

In case ineligible expenditure is detected, the Commission has the obligation to recover misspent EU resources. In case of allegations of fraud or misuse of EU funds, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is responsible to conduct the investigations. In case of detection of fraud, the Commission proceeds according to the recommendations received from OLAF.