Brussels, 27/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted a draft Council regulation setting out the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application presented in one of the EU Member States. This proposals follows on from the request made by the Tampere European Council to create a "common European asylum regime" and to replace the Dublin Convention, which already allows to determine the Member State responsible for examining the asylum applications presented in the EU.
The new draft regulation mainly aims to: - ensure the asylum seekers proper access to procedures for the recognition of refugee status; - prevent abuse of the asylum procedures (multiple asylum applications presented simultaneously or successively by the same person in several Member States in order to prolong their stay in the EU); - fill the gaps in the Dublin Convention.
It also includes new provisions placing emphasis on (1) the responsibility taken by each Member State with regards to all of its EU partners by leaving to stagnate situations of illegal stays on its territory, (2) the times for the procedures being far too short and coherent with the timeframe proposed with regards to the procedures from granting and withdrawing the status of refugee in order to rapidly process asylum applications, as well as (3) new provisions aiming to maintain the family unity of asylum seekers to the extent that this is compatible with the other aims of the asylum and immigration policy. The proposal notably foresees to guarantee that all unaccompanied minors, be brought back to an adult member of his family already present in a State and susceptible of taking responsibility.