Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council are expected to meet again at the end of March for a second round of negotiations on the draft regulation on Eurodac, the biometric database of migrants and asylum seekers, a source said on Friday 3 March.
The meeting on Thursday 2 March (see EUROPE 13132/8) was the first real political meeting between the negotiators, as the trilogue at the end of December only served to present the respective positions.
However, divergent opinions emerged from this second meeting, with some describing it as a tense meeting with the Swedish Presidency not open to a series of compromises, while others considered the atmosphere relatively constructive.
The issue of the age of minors and the presumption of age remains one of the most sensitive topics, but some believe that an agreement will eventually be reached.
On Thursday, the Presidency reportedly continued to reject the inclusion in the Eurodac text of elements on the detention of minors, which it believes should remain in other legislation of the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’.
No agreement could be reached at this stage on the link between Eurodac and the EU’s future smart border system, the so-called ‘Entry/Exit’ system, which will come into force this year. The Spanish rapporteur, Jorge Buxadé (ECR), is reportedly opposed to this link himself. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)