On Thursday 30 November, Cecilia Wikström (ALDE, Sweden), the European Parliament's rapporteur on reform of the Dublin Regulation, commented that the plans of the Estonian Presidency of the EU Council on this reform and the section on solidarity and responsibility are "far from acceptable".
"The member states' plans for a new Dublin system would make a compromise very difficult", she stated the day after the Estonian Presidency presented a new compromise text based on the work of the Slovak and Maltese Presidencies and on numerous bilateral meetings conducted by the Presidency since the summer holiday – a compromise that puts an end to the principle of compulsory relocation for asylum applicants for all member states (see EUROPE 11915).
"I welcome the work of the Estonian Presidency which s trying to reach a common Council position on the Dublin Regulation. The system proposed is nevertheless very far from what could be an acceptable solution for the European Parliament. If the Council was to agree on such a position, it would make negotiations between the co-legislators very difficult", she said, adding that the Parliament will nevertheless be open and constructive.
On 19 October, the civil liberties committee decided on a Dublin reform that includes a permanent automatic mechanism for relocation, and sanctions (the freezing of European funds) for countries that resist (see EUROPE 11887). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)