Brussels, 26/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 June, the European Commission presented a new legislative proposal aiming to add to the Dublin regulation mechanism and to focus more on the treatment of unaccompanied minors. The Commission is reacting to a recent ruling of the Court of Justice and has proposed to clarify the rules in force. Minors with no relatives or specific links in a country of the EU where they are living will have the right to remain there and to submit their asylum applications, with the member states invited to introduce derogations to the basic principle of the regulation, which stipulates that the member state responsible for the application is the one by which the candidate entered the EU. This situation translates into transfers between countries, which also affects these minors. “This will prevent minors, who are vulnerable, from being sent to other member states and moved around excessively”, stated Michele Cercone, spokesperson to Cecilia Malmström. In 2013, 12,690 unaccompanied minors made asylum applications in the EU. The Commission hopes that the Council and the EP will adopt its proposals quickly. (SP)