In its Communication ‘Towards a reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and enhancing legal avenues to Europe’ of 6 April 2016, the Commission acknowledged the inherent weaknesses of the EU asylum system in time of migratory crisis.

The objective pursued by the Commission is to ensure more equal treatment of asylum applicants across the EU and reduce undue pull factors to come to the EU. For this purpose on 13 July 2016 it put forward a legislative proposal on the reform of the Reception Conditions Directive. The aim of the proposal is to ensure that asylum seekers can benefit from harmonised and dignified reception standards throughout the EU.

In his 2017 State of the Union Letter of Intent the Commission president Juncker called upon the EP and the Council to adopt the proposal on the reception conditions by the end of 2018. Along the same lines, the Commission in its Communication of December 2017 invited the EU Leaders to agree on reaching the political agreement between the EP and the Council on the Reception conditions directive by May 2018.

In the Parliament, the proposal has been assigned to the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE). The rapporteur Sophia in’t Veld presented her draft report on 18 January 2017. The LIBE Committee adopted the draft report on 25 April 2017.

The report adopted by LIBE Committee disagrees with the punitive approach proposed by the Commission towards applicants who try and move illegally to another Member State. Instead it proposes to strengthen measures needed to de-incentivise asylum applicants from leaving the Member State responsible.

According to the report, asylum-seekers should be able to work in the EU no later than two months after applying for asylum, instead of the current nine months. However, Member States may still fill a vacancy through preferential access by their nationals, other EU citizens or by third-country nationals lawfully residing in the country.

As regards detention of asylum-seekers, this should be a measure of last resort and should always be based on a decision by a judicial authority. Detention or any confinement of children, whether unaccompanied or with families, should be prohibited. Member States must ensure that every unaccompanied minor gets a guardian from the moment of his or her arrival in the EU, as well as immediate access to health care and education under the same conditions as national minors.

The report also stresses that extra measures are necessary to protect the fundamental rights of applicants with special needs, and that rapid identification of those applicants and training of personnel in this regard are important.

Following the adoption of the report in the LIBE committee, the EP at the plenary session of 17 May 2017 adopted a decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations.

On 29 November 2017, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) endorsed, on behalf of the Council, a mandate  for trilogue negotiations on a proposal for the directive. The main elements of the mandate include:

• applicants should receive an adequate standard of living and comparable living conditions in all member states;
• access to reception conditions should be provided in a member state responsible for the application for international protection;
• applicants should be afforded material reception conditions and access to health care and shall have access to the labour market no later than 9 month after lodging an application;
• applicants may be required to cover or contribute to the costs of their reception conditions if having sufficient means;
• member states may restrict applicants’ freedom of movement within their territory, assign them a specific place, define reporting obligations and, in case of risk of absconding, may make use of detention;
• EU asylum agency shall assist member states in their preparation of contingency plans for the events of disproportionate number of applicants.

On 14 June 2018, the EP and the Council reached a partial provisional agreement on the recast directive.

In an attempt to abandon the long-held ‘package approach’ that linked the reform of the EU Dublin Regulation and a permanent relocation system to the rest of the legislative reforms of the asylum acquis, Member States representatives in June 2022 adopted a Declaration on a voluntary solidarity mechanism. The aim was to address issues of ‘solidarity and responsibility-sharing’ among Member States over who is responsible for assessing applications of asylum seekers rescued at sea. In June 2022, the Parliament and the rotating Presidencies of the Council signed a joint roadmap, declaring their plan to finish negotiating all the asylum and migration proposals currently on the table by February 2024, with the aim of having them enter into force by April 2024 at the latest.

The Parliament and the Council reached a final agreement on the directive on reception conditions on 15 December 2022. On 8 February 2024, Coreper approved the provisional agreement. Under the deal, asylum-seekers will be allowed to work 6 months after requesting asylum, instead of current 9 months. Furthermore, they should get access to language and civic education courses and vocational training to enhance integration opportunities. Place of residence may be established by authorities to avoid people absconding, but detention will only be possible in specific cases. All unaccompanied minors are to have a guardian and all asylum-seeker children are to be schooled.

The Parliament adopted the recast directive on 10 April 2024 and the Council on 14 May 2024. After the presidents of both institutions signed the directive on 14 May 2024, it was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 22 May 2024. The directive enters into force in June 2024. Member States will then have 2 years to transpose the provisions of the directive into their national laws.

References:

• EP Legislative Observatory, Procedure file on the reception of applicants for international protection. Recast, 2016/0222(COD)
• Directive (EU) 2024/1346 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection
• European Commission, Communication 'Towards A Reform Of The Common European Asylum System And Enhancing Legal Avenues To Europe', COM(2016)0197
• European Commission, Communication on Commission contribution to the EU Leaders' thematic debate on a way forward on the external and internal dimension of migration policy, COM(2017) 820
• European Commission, Proposal for a Directive laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast), COM(2016) 465 final
• European Parliament, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs report on the proposal for a directive laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast), 2016/0222(COD)
• European Parliament, Reception conditions for asylum-seekers agreed between MEPs and Council, Press release, 14 June 2018
• Council, Reception conditions for asylum applicants: Council agrees mandate for negotiations, Press release, 29 November 2017
• European Parliament, European Parliament legislative resolution of 10 April 2024 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection, 2016/0222(COD).

Further reading:

• European Parliament, EPRS, Reception of asylum-seekers – recast Directive, Briefing, November 2023
• European Parliament, EPRS, Work and social welfare for asylum-seekers and refugees: Selected EU Member States, In-Depth Analysis, December 2015

Author: Anja Radjenovic, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

Visit the European Parliament homepage on Migration.