MIGRATION GOVERNANCE European Commission releases guide to use EU funds for the integration of migrants The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy has released a toolkit to assist relevant stakeholders in designing and implementing integration policies targeted at people with a migration background, including when undocumented, through the use of EU funds in the 2021–2027 programming period. It describes the scope of support and the legal requirements of the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. New German coalition government expands residence permits for undocumented people Germany’s new coalition government (consisting of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals) agreed to expand access to and scope of residence permits for undocumented people. In particular, the coalition agreement foresees that people who live in Germany under a temporary suspension of their deportation (Duldung-status) would now be able to work. Those who have Duldung-status for training purposes would also be able to get a regular residence permit. The agreement foresees that people who have been living under Duldung-status for at least five years on 1 January 2022 would be able to have access to a one-year residence permit so they can apply for other, longer-term residence permits. The coalition partners have also agreed to not build any new detention centers or detain children, but nothing is said as to the widespread use of detention pending deportation. An analysis by migrants’ rights organisation ProAsyl can be found here. The government agreement also foresees to abolish obligations to report undocumented migrants seeking health care to the social welfare office, which we covered in our December 2020 newsletter.