The European Commission has expressed its “concerns” about the national law adopted on Thursday 3 June by the Danish Parliament to externalise asylum policy and send people who have come to Denmark to apply for asylum to a third country.
This externalisation of asylum policy does not correspond to European standards and raises “fundamental questions”, particularly regarding its compatibility with international obligations, said Adalbert Jahnz, the institution’s spokesman in charge of migration, on the same day.
“We are also concerned about the risks of undermining the international protection system for refugees around the world. External processing of claims raises fundamental questions about both the access to asylum procedures and to protection”, he also noted.
The Commission will now “analyse” this legislation very seriously “before deciding” on the next steps. Denmark does not participate in freedom, security and justice policies, but can choose to take some legislation: for example, the country does not participate in the latest so-called Dublin Regulation, which frames the responsibilities for asylum between Member States. The Commission asked for time on Thursday to look in detail at the legal situation in Denmark.
“The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, urges States not to externalise their asylum and protection obligations. The HCR warns that such practices jeopardise the safety of people in need of international protection”, the UNHCR had already reacted on 19 May in the run-up to the vote.
Thus, “the HCR remains strongly opposed to externalisation initiatives that forcibly transfer asylum seekers to other countries. Externalisation only shifts asylum responsibilities elsewhere and avoids international obligations. Such practices undermine the rights of people seeking safety and protection, demonise and punish them and can put their lives at risk”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)