a common european asylum system
TRANSCRIPT
Home Aff airs
A Common European
Asylum System
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ISBN 978-92-79-34626-2doi:10.2837/65932
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An area of protection and solidarity for the most vulnerable
The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) has been my top priority since the beginning of my mandate and I have been involved in negotiations since the first day. Getting the CEAS in place is an historic achievement, something the EU Member States and the Parliament have been aiming at since 1999.
The CEAS will provide better access to the asylum procedure for those who seek protection; will lead to fairer, quicker and better quality asylum decisions; will ensure that people in fear of persecution will not be returned to danger; and will provide dignified and decent conditions both for those who apply for asylum and those who are granted international protection within the EU.
We have travelled a tough road to get here. But our achievement is not yet fully complete. We now need to put in a great effort to implement our legislation and ensure this common system will function well and uniformly. Only then we will have an area of protection and solidarity deserving its name — an achievement that we can be proud of.
Cecilia Malmström,Commissioner for Home Affairs
A Common European Asylum System
Asylum and the EUAsylum Procedures DirectiveReception Conditions DirectiveQualification DirectiveDublin RegulationEurodac Regulation
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COMMON EUROPEAN ASYLUM SYSTEM
ASYLUM is granted to people fleeing persecution or serious harm.
The process for applying for asylum is now similar throughout the EU (Asylum Procedures Directive).
Asylum applicants receive material reception conditions, such as housing and food (Reception Conditions Directive).
Overturning of the negative first instance decision by the court.
An asylum applicant is interviewed by a case worker trained in EU law, with the help of an interpreter, to determine whether
he/she may qualify for refugee status or subsidiary protection (Qualification Directive and Asylum Procedures Directive).
Each applicant’s fingerprints are taken and sent to a database called Eurodac (Eurodac Regulation). These data are used to help identify the country responsible for the asylum application (Dublin Regulation).
Asylum is not granted to the applicant at first instance, but this refusal may be appealed in court.
Confirmation of the negative first instance decision by the court, following which the applicant may be returned to his/her country of origin or transit.
Refugee or subsidiary protection status is granted, which gives the person certain rights, such as access to a residence permit, the labour market and healthcare (Qualification Directive).
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A DUTY TO PROTECT
• Asylumisgrantedtopeoplefleeingpersecutionorseriousharm.Asylum is a fundamental right; granting it is an internationalobligationunderthe1951Genevaconventionontheprotectionofrefugees.
• Inanareaofopenbordersandfreedomofmovement,wehavetohaveajointapproachtoasylumacrosstheEU.
• Asylumflowsarenotconstant,noraretheyevenlydistributedacross the EU.They have, for example, varied from a peak of425 000 applications for the EU-27 in 2001 down to under200 000in2006.In2012,therewereover330 000.
• Asylummustnotbealottery.EUMemberStateshaveasharedresponsibilitytowelcomeasylumseekersinadignifiedmanner,ensuringtheyaretreatedfairlyandthattheircaseisexaminedtouniformstandardssothat,nomatterwhereanapplicantapplies,theoutcomewillbesimilar.
THE EU AS AN AREA OF PROTECTION
Since1999,theEUhasbeenworkingtocreateaCommonEuropeanAsylumSystem (CEAS) and improve the current legislative frame-work.
New EU rules have now been agreed, setting out common highstandardsandstrongercooperationtoensurethatasylumseekersaretreatedequallyinanopenandfairsystem—wherevertheyapply.Inshort:
• the revised Asylum Procedures Directive aims at fairer, quickerandbetterqualityasylumdecisions;asylumseekerswithspecialneedswill receive thenecessary support to explain their claimandinparticulartherewillbegreaterprotectionofunaccompan-iedminorsandvictimsoftorture;
• the revised Reception Conditions Directiveensuresthattherearehumanematerialreceptionconditions(suchashousing)forasy-lumseekersacrosstheEUandthatthefundamentalrightsofthe
concernedpersonsarefullyrespected;italsoensuresthatdeten-tionisonlyappliedasameasureoflastresort;
• the revised Qualification Directiveclarifiesthegroundsforgrant-ing international protection and therefore will make asylumdecisionsmore robust; itwill also improve theaccess to rightsandintegrationmeasuresforbeneficiariesof internationalpro-tection;
• the revised Dublin Regulationenhancestheprotectionofasylumseekersduringtheprocessofestablishingthestateresponsibleforexamining theapplicationandclarifies the rulesgoverning therelationsbetweenstates;itcreatesasystemtodetectearlyprob-lems innationalasylumorreceptionsystemsandaddress theirrootcausesbeforetheydevelopintofullyfledgedcrises;
• the revised Eurodac RegulationwillallowlawenforcementaccesstotheEUdatabaseofthefingerprintsofasylumseekersunderstrictlylimitedcircumstancesinordertoprevent,detectorinves-tigatethemostseriouscrimes,suchasmurderandterrorism.
ASYLUM AND THE EU
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Common safeguards must be ensured for people fleeing persecution and seeking international protection — asylum seekers must have access to fair and efficient asylum procedures.
WHAT IS THE ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE?
TheAsylumProceduresDirective(1)setsoutrulesonthewholepro-cessofclaimingasylum,includingon:howtoapply,howtheapplica-tionwillbeexamined,whathelptheasylumseekerwillbegiven,howtoappealandwhethertheappealwillallowthepersontostayontheterritory,whatcanbedoneiftheapplicantabscondsorhowtodealwithrepeatedapplications.
ThepreviousdirectivewasthelowestcommondenominatorbetweenMemberStatesatthetime.Theruleswereoftentoovagueanddero-gationsallowedMemberStatestokeeptheirownrules,evenifthesewentbelowbasicagreedstandards.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
ThenewAsylumProceduresDirective (2) ismuchmoreprecise. Itcreates a coherent system, which ensures that asylum decisions aremademore efficiently andmore fairly and that allMember Statesexamineapplicationswithacommonhigh-qualitystandard.
• Itsetsclearerrulesonhowtoapplyforasylum:therehavetobespecificarrangements,forexampleatborders,tomakesurethateveryonewhowishes to request asylumcando soquickly andeffectively.
• Procedureswillbebothfasterandmoreefficient.Normally,anasylumprocedurewillnotbelongerthan6months.Therewillbebettertrainingfordecision-makersandmoreearlyhelpfortheapplicant,sothattheclaimcanbefullyexaminedquickly.Theseinvestmentswillsavemoneyoverall,becauseasylumseekerswillspend less time in state-sponsored reception systemsand therewillbefewerwrongdecisions,sofewercostlyappeals.
(1) CouncilDirective2005/85/ECof1December2005onminimumstandardsonproceduresinMemberStatesforgrantingandwithdrawingrefugeestatus.
(2) Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of theCouncil of26 June 2013 on commonprocedures for granting andwithdrawing inter-nationalprotection(recast)(applicablefrom21July2015).
• Anyoneinneedofspecialhelp—forexamplebecauseoftheirage,disability,illness,sexualorientationortraumaticexperiences—will receive adequate support, including sufficient time, toexplaintheirclaim.Unaccompaniedchildrenwillbeappointedaqualifiedrepresentativebythenationalauthorities.
• Casesthatareunlikelytobewell-foundedcanbedealtwithinspecialprocedures(‘accelerated’and‘border’procedures).Thereareclearrulesonwhentheseprocedurescanbeapplied,toavoidwell-founded cases being covered. Unaccompanied childrenseekingasylumandvictimsoftorturebenefitfromspecialtreat-mentinthisrespect.
• Rulesonappealsinfrontofcourtsaremuchclearerthanprevi-ously.Currently,EU law is vague andnational systemsdonotalwaysguaranteeenoughaccesstocourts.Asaresult,manycasesendupintheEuropeanCourtofHumanRightsinStrasbourg,whichiscostlyandcreateslegaluncertainty.ThenewrulesfullycomplywithfundamentalrightsandshouldreducepressureontheStrasbourgcourt.
• Member Stateswill also become better equipped to dealwithabusiveclaims, inparticularwithrepetitiveapplicationsby thesame person. Someonewho does not need protectionwill nolongerbeable toprevent removal indefinitelybycontinuouslymakingnewasylumapplications.
ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE
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Asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their application must be provided with certain necessities that guarantee them a dignified standard of living.
WHAT IS THE RECEPTION CONDITIONS DIRECTIVE?
TheReceptionConditionsDirective (1)dealswithaccess torecep-tion conditions for asylum seekerswhile theywait for the examin-ationoftheirclaim.Itensuresthatapplicantshaveaccesstohousing,food, healthcare and employment, as well as medical and psycho-logicalcare.
Inthepast,divergingpracticesamongMemberStatescould,however,leadtoaninadequatelevelofmaterialreceptionconditionsforasy-lumseekers.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
ThenewReceptionConditionsDirective (2)aimstoensurebetteraswellasmoreharmonisedstandardsofreceptionconditionsthrough-outtheUnion.
• Forthefirsttime,detailedcommonruleshavebeenadoptedontheissueofthedetentionofasylumseekers,ensuringthattheirfundamentalrightsarefullyrespected.Inparticular,it:
— includesanexhaustivelistofdetentiongroundsthatwillhelptoavoidarbitrarydetentionpracticesandlimitsdetentiontoasshortaperiodoftimeaspossible;
— restricts the detention of vulnerable persons, in particularminors;
— includesimportantlegalguaranteessuchasaccesstofreelegalassistanceandinformationinwritingwhenlodginganappealagainstadetentionorder;
(1) CouncilDirective 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003 laying downminimumstandardsforthereceptionofasylumseekers.
(2) Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of theCouncil of26 June2013layingdownstandardsforthereceptionofapplicantsforinter-nationalprotection(recast)(applicablefrom21July2015).
– introduces specific receptionconditions fordetention facil-ities,suchasaccesstofreshairandcommunicationwithlaw-yers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and familymembers.
• The new directive also clarifies the obligation to conduct anindividualassessment inorderto identifythespecialreceptionneedsofvulnerablepersons. Itprovidesparticularattentiontounaccompaniedminorsandvictimsoftortureandensuresthatvulnerableasylumseekerscanalsoaccesspsychologicalsupport.Finally,itincludesrulesonthequalificationsoftherepresenta-tivesforunaccompaniedminors.
• Accesstoemploymentforanasylumseekermustnowbegrantedwithinamaximumperiodof9months.
RECEPTION CONDITIONS DIRECTIVE
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Before a person can receive asylum, he/she must be recognised as a refugee or as a beneficiary of subsidiary protection.
WHAT IS THE QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE?
The Qualification Directive (1) specifies the grounds for grantinginternationalprotection.
Itsprovisionsalsoforeseeaseriesofrightsonprotectionfromrefoule-ment, residence permits, travel documents, access to employment,accesstoeducation,socialwelfare,healthcare,accesstoaccommoda-tionandaccesstointegrationfacilities,aswellasspecificprovisionsforchildrenandvulnerablepersons.
Theminimumstandards inthepreviousdirectiveweretoacertainextentvague,whichmaintaineddivergences innationalasylumleg-islationandpractices.Thechancesofapersonbeinggranted inter-nationalprotectioncouldvarytremendouslydependingontheMem-berStateprocessingtheasylumapplication.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
ThenewQualificationDirective (2)will contribute to improve thequalityofthedecision-makingandensurethatpeoplefleeingpersecu-tion,warsandtorturearetreatedfairly,inauniformmanner.
• Itclarifiesthegroundsforgrantinginternationalprotectionandleads tomore robust determinations, thus improving the effi-ciencyoftheasylumprocessandpreventionoffraud,andensurescoherencewiththeEuropeancourt’sjudgments.
• Itapproximatestoalargeextenttherightsgrantedtoallbene-ficiaries of international protection (recognised refugees and
(1) CouncilDirective2004/83/ECof29April2004onminimumstandardsforthequalificationandstatusofthird-countrynationalsorstatelesspersonsasrefugeesoraspersonswhootherwiseneedinternationalprotectionandthecontentoftheprotectiongranted.
(2) Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of13 December2011onstandardsforthequalificationofthird-countrynationalsor statelesspersonsasbeneficiariesof internationalprotection, for auniformstatusforrefugeesorforpersonseligibleforsubsidiaryprotection,andforthecontentoftheprotectiongranted(recast)(applicablefrom21 December2013).
recipients of so-called ‘subsidiary protection’) on access toemploymentandhealthcare.Italsoextendsthedurationofvalid-ityofresidencepermitsforbeneficiariesofsubsidiaryprotection.
• Itensuresabettertakingintoaccountofthebestinterestsofthechildandofgender-relatedaspectsintheassessmentofasylumapplications,aswellasintheimplementationoftherulesonthecontentofinternationalprotection.
• Itimprovestheaccessofbeneficiariesofinternationalprotectiontorightsandintegrationmeasures.Itbettertakes intoaccountthe specificpracticaldifficulties facedbybeneficiariesof inter-nationalprotection.
QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE
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Every single asylum application lodged within EU territory needs to be examined — each EU Member State must be able to determine if and when it is responsible for handling an asylum claim.
WHAT IS THE DUBLIN REGULATION?
ThecoreprincipleoftheDublinRegulation (1)isthattherespons-ibilityforexaminingclaimliesprimarilywiththeMemberStatewhichplayedthegreatestpartintheapplicant’sentryorresidenceintheEU.Thecriteriaforestablishingresponsibilityrun,inhierarchicalorder,fromfamilyconsiderations,torecentpossessionofvisaorresidencepermitinaMemberState,towhethertheapplicanthasenteredtheEUirregularlyorregularly.
Experienceoftheprevioussystemhas,however, showntheneedtobetter address situations of particular pressure on Member States’receptioncapacitiesandasylumsystems.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
ThenewDublinRegulation (2) contains soundprocedures for theprotectionofasylumapplicantsandimprovesthesystem’sefficiencythrough:
• an early warning, preparedness and crisis management mech-anism, geared to addressing the root dysfunctional causes ofnationalasylumsystemsorproblemsstemmingfromparticularpressures;
• a series of provisions on the protection of applicants, such ascompulsorypersonalinterviews,guaranteesforminors(includ-ing a detailed description of the factors that should lay at thebasisofassessingachild’sbestinterests)andextendedpossibil-itiesofreunifyingthemwithrelatives;
(1) CouncilRegulation(EC)No343/2003of18February2003establishingthecriteria andmechanisms fordetermining theMemberState responsible forexamining an asylumapplication lodged inoneof theMemberStatesby athird-countrynational.
(2) Regulation(EU)No604/2013oftheEuropeanParliamentandoftheCoun-cilof26June2013establishingthecriteriaandmechanismsfordeterminingtheMemberStateresponsibleforexamininganapplicationforinternationalprotectionlodgedinoneoftheMemberStatesbyathird-countrynationalorastatelessperson(recast)(applicablefrom1January2014).
• thepossibilityforappealstosuspendtheexecutionofthetrans-ferfortheperiodwhentheappealis judged,togetherwiththeguarantee of the right for a person to remain on the territorypendingthedecisionofacourtonthesuspensionofthetransferpendingtheappeal;
• an obligation to ensure legal assistance free of charge uponrequest;
• asinglegroundfordetentionincaseofriskofabsconding;strictlimitationofthedurationofdetention;
• thepossibilityforasylumseekersthatcouldinsomecasesbecon-sideredirregularmigrantsandreturnedundertheReturnDirec-tive to be treated under theDublin procedure— thus givingthesepersonsmoreprotectionthantheReturnDirective;
• anobligationtoguaranteetherighttoappealagainstatransferdecision;
• morelegalclarityonproceduresbetweenMemberStates—e.g.exhaustive and clearerdeadlines.The entireDublinprocedurecannotlastlongerthan11 monthstotakechargeofapersonor9 monthstotakehim/herback(exceptforabscondingorwherethepersonisimprisoned).
DUBLIN REGULATION
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Eurodac makes it easier for EU Member States to determine responsibility for examining an asylum application by comparing fingerprint datasets.
WHAT IS EURODAC?
The Eurodac Regulation (1) establishes an EU asylum fingerprintdatabase.Whensomeoneapplies forasylum,nomatterwhere theyareintheEU,theirfingerprintsaretransmittedtotheEurodaccentralsystem.Eurodachasbeenoperatingsince2003andhasprovedaverysuccessfulITtool.
Some updates were, however, required, in particular to reduce thedelayoftransmissionbysomeMemberStates,toaddressdataprotec-tionconcernsandtohelpcombatterrorismandseriouscrime.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Thenewregulation (2)improvestheregularfunctioningofEurodac.
• It sets new time limits for fingerprint data to be transmitted,reducingthetimewhichelapsesbetweenthetakingandsendingoffingerprintstothecentralunitofEurodac.
• Italsoensuresfullcompatibilitywiththelatestasylumlegislationandbetteraddressesdataprotectionrequirements.
• Untilnow,theEurodacdatabasecouldonlybeusedforasylumpurposes.Thenewregulationallowsnationalpoliceforcesand
(1) CouncilRegulation(EC)No2725/2000of11December2000concerningtheestablishmentof‘Eurodac’forthecomparisonoffingerprintsfortheeffec-tiveapplicationoftheDublinconvention.
(2) Regulation(EU)No603/2013oftheEuropeanParliamentandoftheCoun-cilof26June2013ontheestablishmentof‘Eurodac’forthecomparisonoffingerprints for the effective applicationofRegulation (EU)No604/2013establishingthecriteriaandmechanismsfordeterminingtheMemberStateresponsibleforexamininganapplicationforinternationalprotectionlodgedinoneof theMemberStatesby a third-countrynationalor a statelessper-sonandonrequestsforthecomparisonwithEurodacdatabyMemberStates’lawenforcementauthoritiesandEuropolforlawenforcementpurposes,andamendingRegulation(EU)No1077/2011establishingaEuropeanAgencyfortheoperationalmanagementoflarge-scaleITsystemsintheareaoffree-dom,securityandjustice(recast)(applicablefrom20July2015).
Europol to compare fingerprints linked to criminal investiga-tionswiththosecontainedinEurodac.Thiswilltakeplaceunderstrictlycontrolledcircumstancesandonlyforthepurposeoftheprevention,detectionandinvestigationofseriouscrimesandter-rorism.
– Specificsafeguards includearequirementtocheckallavail-able criminal records databases first and limiting searchesonlytothemostseriouscrimes,suchasmurderandterrorism.
– In addition,prior tomaking aEurodac check, law enforce-mentauthoritiesmustundertakeacomparisonoffingerprintsagainsttheVisaInformationSystem(wherepermitted).
– Law enforcement checksmay not bemade in a systematicway,butonlyasalastresortwhenalltheconditionsforaccessarefulfilled.
– No data received from Eurodac may be shared with thirdcountries.
EURODAC REGULATION
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doi:10.2837/65932