8. Welcomes the envisaged pilot project on resettlement across the EU (in addition to resettlement by individual Member States); regrets, however, the unambitious goal of resettling only 5000 Syrian refugees; recalls that UNHCR is looking for 130.000 resettlement places at the very minimum; strongly encourages Member States to make available resettlement places, in particular those Member States which so far have not contributed to resettlement at all; asks the Commission to make a proposal for a European resettlement programme with binding obligations for Member States to take refugees according to a fair distribution key which woul ...[+++]d take into account of population size and economic indicators, as well as of numbers of refugees already taken;

Taking into account the resettlement needs set out in the common Union resettlement priorities, it is also necessary that additional financial incentives are provided for the resettlement of persons with respect to specific geographic regions and nationalities, as well as to the specific categories of persons to be resettled, where resettlement is determined to be the most appropriate response to their special needs.

14. Stresses the need to establish a structured cooperation framework through measures to gather expertise and enable information collecting and sharing; stresses also that an effective EU Resettlement Programme must provide the Member States (those already participating in the programme and those that wish to participate) with access to human resources, expert advice and shared information that may be useful in any phase of the resettlement initiative; recognises that all those involved in resettlement, and especially resettled refugees, are a valuable source of information for the evaluation of resettlement initiatives;

43. Calls on the EASO, in particular through its proposed resettlement Unit, to establish clear criteria for quality resettlement in close cooperation with the UNHCR, NGOs and local authorities and follow the resettlement of the refugees, in order to contribute to the evaluation and further improvement of the resettlement activities in the Member States;

14. Stresses the need to establish a structured cooperation framework through measures to gather expertise and enable information collecting and sharing; stresses also that an effective EU Resettlement Programme must provide the Member States (those already participating in the programme and those that wish to participate) with access to human resources, expert advice and shared information that may be useful in any phase of the resettlement initiative; recognises that all those involved in resettlement, and especially resettled refugees, are a valuable source of information for the evaluation of resettlement initiatives;

6. Calls for a more ambitious programme which ensures the quality and effectiveness of the resettlement, containing specific guidelines on a new model of priority-setting, incentives to attract more Member States to resettle refugees, consistency of resettlement with other EU asylum policies and standards of reception conditions and follow-up measures to be taken in each resettlement initiative;