The European Parliament’s rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs and the EU Council’s negotiators will meet again in Strasbourg on 12 September for a series of new trilogues on the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’.
In particular, they will resume work on the regulations on Asylum and Migration Management (RAMM) and Asylum Procedures (APR). On 12 September, they should also resume work on the ‘Eurodac’ regulation, the future large-scale database on migration, said a source, although this trilogue will not be the last.
With regard to the RAMM regulation, there should be further discussion on governance and national asylum strategies, which are part of the annual cycle on migration; discussions could also focus on the external dimension of migration. On APR, the co-legislators will attempt to finalise chapters covering, in particular, legal aid for asylum seekers during the procedure and the appeal, as the Council of the EU does not appear to be very open to the principle of free legal aid, as defended by the European Parliament.
The most controversial points of the APR regulation, i.e. whether or not so-called ‘border’ procedures should be compulsory and the concept of a safe third country, should then be addressed in the second half of September, if things progress as agreed.
In any case, these two points are likely to be the most difficult to resolve, as the European Parliament has opted for an optional border procedure, whereas the Council of the EU has opted for a mandatory procedure.
The Council of the EU, for its part, still has to reach agreement on the ‘Crisis’ Regulation, which was not approved by the Member States on 26 July (see EUROPE 13230/5), before negotiations can begin with the European Parliament. Discussions between the Member States on this mandate are due to resume in early September. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)