Summary
Funded by the European Commission (DG HOME) and implemented by ICMPD, the Return and Reintegration Facility (RRF) supports European Member States and Schengen Associated Countries (MS) to increase the effectiveness of their return and reintegration programming.
The RRF provides operational and financial support to MS to facilitate the development of solutions and activities with an EU-added value in the area of return and reintegration, whilst bridging gaps between existing initiatives. In parallel, the RRF supports the implementation of the EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration.
The RRF focuses on three main work areas, within the return and reintegration process:
- the counselling and outreach stream aims to support MS in building effective return counselling processes and structures;
- with direct services, the project aims to facilitate the procurement and contract management of specific, targeted services for persons who require medical care and the provision of direct financial support during the return process;
- to foster local ownership the RRF supports the cooperation among the MS, national authorities in countries of origin and other relevant stakeholders.
Examples of RRF activities are:
- Counselling Lab: this initiative is done in collaboration with return practitioners from MS to design and develop tools on a variety of topics to help counsellors in their daily work.
- Local Ownership Armenia (LOSRA): this activity is implemented in collaboration with the ICMPD Armenia office and it provides complementary reintegration services to returnees.
- Sustainable Reintegration Iraq (SRI): this is an RRF granted awarded to the Finnish Immigration Services (FIS) to support migrants returning from Finland to Iraq by providing psychosocial support and/or business trainings.
- Medical Reintegration Assistance (MedRA+): the project is a member state driven initiative offering specialised and tailor-made medical assistance to returnees with health-related conditions. It aims to ensure the availability and accessibility of the necessary medical services in all phases of return in full respect of their human rights and under conditions of dignity.
Together with the European Commission and Frontex, the RRF contributes to the development of the Reintegration Assistance Tool (RIAT), a digital platform designed to streamline the management and delivery of reintegration assistance to returnees. RIAT acts as a central hub for the exchange of information and coordination among a diverse range of stakeholders, including EU Member States (MS), other host countries, EU institutions like Frontex, and reintegration service providers worldwide.