On Thursday 6 October, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union submitted a new compromise text on the regulation pertaining to situations of instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum, such as those experienced at the end of 2021 with Belarus. This proposal gives Member States the ability to derogate from EU rules on asylum and the return of irregular migrants.
One of the main new aspects is the reduction of the time limit for relevant Member States to register asylum applications to 3 weeks, compared to 4 weeks in the previous text. This change therefore appears to grant greater protection to the rights of persons seeking international protection. By way of comparison, in a typical migration situation, the registration of an asylum application takes between 3 and 6 days on average.
The maximum duration for the asylum urgency procedure is also increased with an appeal from 16 weeks to 20 weeks.
Furthermore, the title of the urgency procedure for situations of instrumentalisation has been reworded as ‘emergency asylum and return procedure at external borders in situations of instrumentalisation’, instead of ‘emergency procedure for management of migration and asylum’.
Another addition is that the regulation will cover possible derogations in situations of instrumentalisation “where necessary for responding”.
The compromise also specifies that priority should be given to asylum applications made by persons with special needs, minors and anybody whose application is clearly well-founded. It strengthens the language regarding meeting the basic needs of applicants (food, clothing, care, temporary shelter adapted to the climate).
An article has also been added to clarify that the derogation allowing 3 weeks to register applications does not affect the notion of a responsible State in the sense of the (future) regulation on managing asylum and migration (ex-regulation known as ‘Dublin’).
On the subject of returns, the text specifies the obligation of Member States to issue to those persons who cannot remain in the EU, a “decision ordering them to leave”. This decision may take the form of a “simplified standard format”.
The compromise also reformulates the ability for a Member State to request – via a new EU Council implementing decision – an additional 6-month period for the application of derogations.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/3ht (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)