On Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 June, the national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) declined to confirm the progress made in negotiations with European Parliament on a series of legislative texts of the 'asylum' package.
According to a source, the ambassadors chose instead to rely on the discussions underway on the other aspects of the 'asylum' package, such as the so-called 'Dublin' regulation, and comply with this legislative package logic.
Efforts have certainly been made towards an inter-institutional agreement on the dossiers concerning resettlement, the 'Eurodac' regulation (Coreper did not study this dossier, but progress was made in trialogue on 19 June), the 'hosting conditions' directives and the 'qualifications' regulation (see EUROPE 12041). However, the member states are reported to have issued a number of questions on the substance of the compromises on the table, for instance on the 'resettlement' dossier, which are still awaiting responses at technical level.
This means that the progress made on the 'hosting condition' directives and the 'qualifications' regulation could not be approved under the general discussions on the reform of the European asylum system. On Monday 18 June, a number of sources anticipated progress this week at the Council, for instance at the Commission.
The rapporteur on the 'resettlement' regulation, Malin Björk (GUE/NGL, Sweden), expressed astonishment at the U-turn in the situation at the Council, whose position had been presented as in favour of the work carried out. This is a lost opportunity that is particularly regrettable on World Refugee Day, she commented.
According to one source, there will be no more meetings on these matters at Coreper level under the Bulgarian Presidency.
Eurodac. On the 'Eurodac' regulation, the negotiators agreed on Tuesday, according to Parliament, on putting more data (digital fingerprints, facial images, alpha-digital data) of asylum seekers into the system.
As regards the delicate matter of taking the fingerprints of minor migrants, it is reported to have been agreed that the minimum age required to take digital fingerprints and facial images will be reduced from 14 years to six, to help identify and look for missing children and identify family ties. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)