The European Parliament sets out new rules on asylum policy

The first piece of legislation is the report from by Antonio Masip Hidalgo (PES, ES), adopted by 431 votes in favour, 69 against and 43 abstentions and is intended to beef up the right of asylum seekers to adequate reception conditions.  The Commission proposal lays down standards that must be guaranteed in terms of housing, food, clothing, health care, financial benefits, and freedom of movement and access to work.  It also includes provisions on the protection of vulnerable people, such as minors, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women and victims of torture and violence.

 

 

According to the draft legislation, the use of detention should be decided on a case-by-case basis, and asylum seekers should not be held in prisons but in specialised detention facilities.  Legal guarantees against arbitrary detention must be introduced. The detention of unaccompanied minors must be banned.

 

 

Only the judicial authorities should have the power to order detention, says the European Parliament. Administrative authorities can do so only in emergency cases and their decision must be confirmed by the judiciary within 72 hours.  In the absence of a decision, the asylum seeker concerned must be freed immediately.

 

MEPs amend the text, stating that asylum seekers placed in detention must be informed in a language they understand, or that it is reasonable to assume they understand, and receive legal assistance and free representation if they wish it. They must also be able to receive medical care and appropriate psychological support.

 

MEPs believe that the administrative procedures for asylum applications must be carried out swiftly and that delays which are not the fault of the asylum seeker cannot justify an extension of the detention period.

 

In addition, they believe that access to work must be guaranteed within six months after a request for international protection has been lodged.  Minors must have a guaranteed access to education as soon as possible, at the latest within three months.

 

 

Member States are required to check, as soon as a request for international protection is lodged, whether the applicant has special needs: vulnerable people, including minors, pregnant women and victims of torture and violence, or victims of female genital mutilation, must receive adequate attention, say MEPs.  They add that torture victims must be directed quickly towards a care centre suited to their situation. Member States must also assist family unification and guardians must be designated to advise and protect unaccompanied minors.

 

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A second proposal in the asylum package seeks to improve the Dublin regulation of 2003.  The purpose of this regulation is to ensure access to the asylum application procedure and guarantee swift processing of applications, while preventing multiple applications by one person in several different Member States.

 

The proposals seek to guarantee higher standards of protection for individuals and to cope better with situations in which the reception capacity of asylum systems of the Member States are under particular pressure. It lays down deadlines to make the procedure for determining responsibility more efficient and quicker. It also includes provisions guaranteeing that all the needs of those applying for international protection are covered and that sufficient legal guarantees are laid down, such as the right of appeal against transfer decisions, including the right to legal aid, to representation and to family unification. It also reaffirms the principle that nobody may be placed in detention simply because they are applying for international protection - enabling them, on a voluntary basis, to suspend the transfers of asylum seekers back to the first member state of application.

 

The report by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (ALDE, NL), which was adopted by 398 votes in favour 56 against and 65 abstentions, backs these principles. However, it proposes that solidarity between Member States be enhanced by means of compulsory instruments such as the formation of teams of national experts to assist Member States confronted with a large number of asylum applications, and the creation of a reallocation programme to enable beneficiaries of international protection to be received by a Member State other than the one which granted them this protection. Members say that such mechanisms shall come into force before 2012.

 

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The Dublin system could not work without a system for identifying foreign nationals who have already lodged an asylum application in another Member State. This system is Eurodac, a digital set-up for comparing fingerprints, which has been in operation since 2003.  The proposal in the asylum package seeks to improve the general functioning of the system, to clarify the different stages of its operation and to lay down rules on data protection.  Member States will be required to delete data no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected. The report by Nicolae Vlad Popa (EPP-ED, RO), adopted by 445 votes in favour, 76 against and 8 abstentions, supports this proposal with some technical improvements.

 

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The European Parliament also adopted by 467 votes in favour, 42 against and 18 abstentions a report by Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA, UK) approving the creation of a European Asylum Support Office.  This body will provide expert assistance to help implement EU asylum policy and will boost cooperation between Member States and help those subject to particular pressures. MEPs want this office to develop, in conjunction with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and relevant NGOs, training programmes on asylum for members of national civil services.  The office must also put in place an early warning system to enable Member States and the Commission to anticipate large-scale influxes of applicants for international protection. It should also implement the future system of mandatory solidarity for reallocating beneficiaries of international protection.

 

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The regulation is accompanied by a decision which facilitates the funding of the Office by redeploying some of the funds currently allocated to the European Refugee Fund. This redeployment is approved in a report by Barbara Dührkop Dührkop (PES, ES) adopted by 482 votes in favour, 40 against and 19 abstentions.