With a view to the progressive establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice, the Treaty provides both for the adoption of measures aimed at ensuring the free movement of persons, in conjunction with accompanying measures relating to external borders controls, asylum and immigration, and for the adoption of measures relating to asylum, immigration and safeguarding the rights of third-country nationals.

The European Council, at its meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, stated that the European Union must ensure fair treatment of third-country nationals who reside legally on the territory of its Member States. A more vigorous integration policy should aim at granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of European Union citizens. It should also enhance non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural life and develop measures against racism and xenophobia.

The integration of third-country nationals in the Member States is a key element in promoting economic and social cohesion, a fundamental objective of the Community stated in the Treaty. However, having regard to the Treaty, the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals (hereinafter referred to as the Fund) should be primarily targeted at newly-arrived third-country nationals, as far as the co-financing of concrete actions supporting the integration process in Member States is concerned.

In the Hague Programme of 4 and 5 November 2004, the European Council underlines that to achieve the objective of stability and cohesion within Member States' societies it is essential to develop effective policies. It calls for greater coordination of national integration policies on the basis of a common framework and invites the Member States, the Council and the Commission to promote the structural exchange of experience and information on integration.

As requested in the Hague Programme, the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States established on 19 November 2004‘Common Basic Principles for immigrant integration policy in the European Union’ (hereinafter referred to as the Common Basic Principles). The Common Basic Principles assist Member States in formulating integration policies by offering them a thoughtful guide of basic principles against which they can judge and assess their own efforts.

The Common Basic Principles are complementary to and in full synergy with the Community legislative instruments on the admission and stay of legally residing third-country nationals concerning family reunion and long term residents, and other relevant existing legislative frameworks, including those relating to gender equality, non-discrimination and social inclusion.

Recalling the Communication of the Commission of 1 September 2005 on a common Agenda for Integration: framework for the integration of third country nationals in the European Union, the Council Conclusions on that Agenda of 1 and 2 December 2005 underline the need to strengthen the integration policies of the Member States and acknowledge the importance of defining a framework at European level for the integration of legally residing third-country nationals in all aspects of society and in particular concrete measures for implementing the Common Basic Principles.

The failure of an individual Member State to develop and implement integration policies could in different ways have adverse implications for other Member States and the European Union.

To underpin this programming in the area of integration, the budgetary Authority entered specific appropriations in the general budget of the European Union for the period 2003 to 2006 for the financing of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the field of integration (hereinafter referred to as INTI).

In the light of INTI and referring to the Commission Communications on immigration, integration and employment and the First annual report on Migration and Integration, it is considered necessary to endow the Community from 2007 with a specific instrument designed to contribute to the national efforts of Member States to develop and implement integration policies which enable third-country nationals of different cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds to fulfil the conditions of residence and to facilitate their integration into European societies, in accordance with the Common Basic Principles and in complementarity with the European Social Fund (hereinafter referred to as ESF).

To ensure the consistency of the Community's response to integration of third-country nationals, actions financed under the Fund should be specific and complementary to actions financed under the ESF and the European Refugee Fund. In this context, specific joint programming arrangements to ensure the consistency of the Community's response to integration of third-country nationals through the ESF and the Fund should be developed.

Bearing in mind that the Fund and the ESF are under shared management with Member States, arrangements should also be made at national level to ensure consistency in implementation. For that purpose, the authorities of the Member States responsible for the implementation of the Fund should be required to establish cooperation and coordination mechanisms with the authorities designated by the Member States for managing the implementation of the ESF and the European Refugee Fund and to ensure that actions under the Fund should be specific and complementary to actions financed under the ESF and the European Refugee Fund.

This Decision should be targeted primarily, as far as it concerns the co-financing of concrete actions supporting the integration process of third-country nationals in Member States at actions relating to third-country nationals who are newly arrived. Reference, could be made in this context to Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents4 which refers to the period of five years of legal residence as a requirement with which third-country nationals have to comply in order to qualify for long-term residence status.

The Fund should also support Member States in enhancing their capacity to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate in general all integration strategies, policies and measures for third-country nationals as well as the exchange of information, best practices and cooperation in and between Member States contributing to enhancing this capacity.

This Decision is designed to form part of a coherent framework which also includes Decision No 573/2007/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing the European Refugee Fund for the period 2008 to 2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’ and repealing Council Decision 2004/904/EC5, Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing the External Borders Fund for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’6 and Decision No 575/2007/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing the European Return Fund for the period 2008 to 2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’7, which aims to address the issue of fairly sharing responsibilities between Member States as concerns the financial burden arising from the introduction of integrated management of the European Union's external borders and from the implementation of common policies on asylum and immigration, as developed in accordance with Title IV of Part 3 of the Treaty.

The support provided by the Fund would be more efficient and better targeted if co-financing of eligible actions were based on strategic multiannual programming drawn up by each Member State in dialogue with the Commission.

On the basis of strategic guidelines adopted by the Commission, each Member State should prepare a multiannual programming document taking into account its specific situation and needs and setting out its development strategy that should constitute the framework for the implementation of the actions to be listed in the annual programmes.

In the context of shared management as referred to in Article 53(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities8 (hereinafter referred to as the Financial Regulation), the conditions allowing the Commission to exercise its responsibilities for implementation of the general budget of the European Union should be specified and the obligations for the cooperation of the Member States clarified. Applying those conditions would enable the Commission to satisfy itself that Member States are using the Fund in a lawful and correct manner and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management within the meaning of Article 27 and Article 48(2) of the Financial Regulation.

Objective criteria should be established to allocate available annual resources to the Member States. These criteria should take into account the total number of third-country nationals legally staying in Member States and the total new admission of third-country nationals over a given reference period.

Member States should adopt adequate measures to guarantee the proper functioning of the management and control system and the quality of implementation. To this end, it is necessary to establish the general principles and the necessary functions which all programmes should fulfil.

In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, Member States should have the primary responsibility for the implementation and control of the interventions of the Fund.

The obligations on the Member States as regards management and control systems, the certification of expenditure, and the prevention, detection and correction of irregularities and infringements of Community law should be specified in order to guarantee the efficient and correct implementation of their multiannual and annual programmes. In particular, as far as the management and control are concerned, it is necessary to establish the arrangements by which Member States ensure that the relevant systems are in place and function satisfactorily.

Without prejudice to the Commission's powers as regards financial control, cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in this field should be encouraged.

The effectiveness and impact of actions supported by the Fund also depend on their evaluation and the dissemination of their results. The responsibilities of the Member States and the Commission in this regard, and arrangements to ensure the reliability of evaluation and the quality of the related information, should be formalised.

Actions should be evaluated with a view to a mid-term review and impact assessment, and the evaluation process should be incorporated into project monitoring arrangements.

Bearing in mind the importance of visibility of the Community funding, the Commission should provide guidance facilitating the proper acknowledgement of the support received by any authority, non-governmental organisation, international organisation or other entity receiving a grant under the Fund, taking into account the practice with respect to other instruments under shared management, such as the Structural Funds.

This Decision establishes a financial envelope for the entire duration of the programme, within the meaning of point 38 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management9 without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty.

Since the objective of this Decision, namely to promote the integration of third-country nationals in the host societies of Member States within the framework of the Common Basic Principles, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved by the Community, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission10.

In order to ensure a timely implementation of the Fund, this Decision should apply from 1 January 2007.

In accordance with Article 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark does not take part in the adoption of this Decision, and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Ireland has notified, by letter of 6 September 2005, its wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Decision.

In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, the United Kingdom has notified, by letter of 27 October 2005, its wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Decision,