Brussels, 07/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 6 December, the EU Council adopted the political agreement reached end November between the Council and the European Parliament on the future so-called Dublin Regulation that determines which state is responsible for asylum requests. The new “Dublin 3” regulation does not provide any clause for the suspension of transferring asylum requests from one country to another but does stipulate that a member state should continue to examine the dossier of an asylum seeker when transfer to the member state mainly responsible (under the Dublin system) is considered as impossible, due, for example, to systematic failings in the asylum procedure or in the conditions for hosting applicants. A new mechanism, the early warning system, should also allow upstream detection of problems relating to the hosting of asylum seekers in any one country. The text also allows asylum seekers to be heard (in personal interviews) and to present their case to the authority responsible for determining the county responsible for the dossier. Asylum seekers will also be entitled to a procedure in a language they understand. When a decision to make a transfer towards another member state is challenged, member states will be under an obligation to provide free legal assistance to those concerned. The text also provides for detention of asylum seekers to be allowed only in the case of serious risk of flight, but does not exceed a three month period. In the asylum package, two texts have still to be validated, those on procedures and those on access by the police to the Eurodac database. (SP/transl.jl)