Brussels, 06/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - Member States have reached a political agreement on the Dublin II regulation, which is aimed at determining which Member State is responsible for examining a request for asylum. The political agreement was obtained by written procedure and no country opposed the compromise proposal introduced by the Presidency last Friday, which appears to have won out. The political agreement must be formally confirmed by the Council. Three parliamentary reservations remain (Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom) and the paper had not yet been translated into all the languages (there is a linguistic reservation coming from the French). It won't just be translation that presents a problem for the Presidency, for which it will be still quite difficult to approve the document during the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 19-20 December. Member States have therefore accepted the compromise proposed on the most sensitive point: if the asylum seeker has entered a State illegally, this State is responsible for the examination of the request during the 12 months following his arrival. Beyond this period or if it is not known where the person entered illegally, the country responsible will be the one where the person has resided for at least 5 months or I they have resided in several countries, the most recent. The regulation will be accompanied by a declaration in which the Member States make a commitment to strengthen their co-operation in the protection of their borders. EUROPE will be discussing this issue later.