Reform of the European asylum system – that European leaders promised to finalise as quickly as possible – still seems to be at a standstill.
Last week, European Parliament negotiators gave a blunt refusal to the Austrian presidency of the Council of the EU which had called upon them to reopen interinstitutional talks on several texts of the asylum legislative package, the subject of a provisional political agreement in June, even though the national ambassadors with the EU had not formally validated it (see EUROPE 12045). They told member states of this during an interinstitutional negotiation session in trialogue intended to define the course of action to be followed on the asylum legislative package.
The Council hoped to reopen three texts. One is on the qualifications of asylum seekers, as Tanja Fajon (S&D, Slovenia) explained to journalists in Strasbourg on Tuesday 2 October. The other two texts are on the regulation on resettlement of refugees and the directive framing the hosting conditions, another source said on Wednesday, confirming the Council’s approach aimed at carrying out “adjustments”.
The Austrian presidency considers it is logical to reopen discussions “as these texts had not received sufficient support from delegations in June”, a source states. However, the European Parliament says such an approach is tantamount to blocking.
The asylum package comprises seven texts (qualifications, Eurodac, the asylum agency, asylum procedures, Dublin Regulation, resettlement and conditions of hosting). Reviews of the so-called Dublin regulation and asylum procedures, with its list of safe third countries, are considered the trickiest.
Vienna, however, does not seem to have met with satisfaction at this stage, as it states in a paper dated 2 October which takes stock of reform of the European asylum system and which will be put to the European home ministers in Luxembourg on Friday 12 October.
The paper confirms the position of the European Parliament, hostile to any continued negotiation on the three papers in question.
On the "resettlement” regulation, the presidency explains it has held bilateral talks with member states unable to approve the provisional agreement in June. “On the basis of these discussions, new compromise proposals were presented to the EP”, it states. However, “after a first technical trialogue, the Parliament cancelled a second meeting and stated informally that, in principle and for the time being, given the provisional agreement concluded during the June trialogue, it was keeping to the agreement reached”.
The same is true for the directives on conditions for hosting refugees. On the "qualifications” text intended to say who is entitled to EU protection, the Slovenian negotiator seems to have been firmer. Despite the attempt made by the Austrian presidency to submit further compromises, the European Parliament again pointed out it was sticking to the text agreed in June and “did not intend to continue talks for the moment”, the paper states.
It is up to the JHA Council of 12 October and the European Council to determine what happens next.
The road ahead will be a bumpy one. In addition to the three unfinished issues, reform of the Dublin Regulation is still struggling.
According to the Austrian presidency, the bilateral meetings this summer were used to sound out member states with regards “alternative” solutions envisaged “in the new general context”, taking into account the “element of migrant disembarkation” approved by the June European Council (see EUROPE 12051).
Vienna has also asked member states whether it is possible to include “different forms of solidarity to be made available to a member state under migration pressure”, measures which would apply to all countries.
On the other hand, matters seem to be moving forward a little when it comes to Eurodac and the “procedures” regulation. There are, however, still a number of difficult points to be settled such as the procedure at the border (compulsory or optional) and definition of “final decision”, according to the Austrian paper. Another meeting in Council is scheduled for mid-October and Vienna hopes to obtain a mandate for opening talks with the European Parliament.
The Commission has pointed out that the most important thing is to maintain the approach of the legislative package and move forward with regards the Dublin regulation, “to be able to bring all the other texts out of deadlock”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Marion Fontana)