Brussels, 09/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Sussmuth Commission (from the name of its chair and former President of the Bundestag, Rita Sussmuth), set up by the German Minister of the Interior, Otto Schilly, to look into the question of the status of refugee, considered in the conclusions to its work that the decision of knowing who should be considered as being a refugee according to the terms of the UN Refugee Convention, had to be taken jointly by the Member States and the EU. This should enable Germany to come to the same principled and legal approach as the majority of States in Europe and the world, who grant refugee status to victims of persecution regardless of the persecutor, comments the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). ECRE places emphasis on the fact that to have a fair asylum system, there has to be a definition of the term refugee at European level and that it is consequently important to rapidly have a European debate on the subject. "The Sussmuth's Commission report is an invitation to the European Union to develop legislation firmly based on this global consensus. Human suffering is the key-issue, not the persecutor", commented the General Secretary of ECRE, Peer Baneke. ECRE recalls that throughout the world, many people suffer persecution by armed groups because of their religion, ethnic background or political opinion, where the state is not able or willing to provide protection, and that the vast majority of states agree that such persons deserve refuge status under the Geneva Convention. Germany it goes on, is one of the few countries in the world that until now had not accepted this position (it interprets the Convention in a restrictive manner, faring a massive influx of refugees).