Veria, 28/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - The British proposal on extreme toughening of the European asylum policy received a mitigated welcome from most EU15 Ministers of the Interior, who met in informal Council in Veria, Greece. The welcome was cautiously favourable, several diplomats say, but, although the need for reform was recognised, the questions posed on details, legality and feasibility of this proposal were plentiful. The discussion took place in the absence of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, who was not to get there till the evening.
British Home Secretary David Blunkett gave details of his proposals of areas for hosting refugees near conflict areas and "transit centres" for processing asylum requests outside the EU. He called for the United Nations Convention on Refugees to be reviewed, saying, as he had done the day before, that the "European Union cannot carry on pursuing old solutions to the asylum problem that do not work (…). We need to be able to show our citizens at home that European asylum policy is not simply a gateway for uncontrolled migration, but rather a firm and fair procedure for those who genuinely need refuge". The text of the proposal clearly explains that the United Kingdom contemplates sending back any asylum seekers outside the EU for processing their requests. "One possibility", one reads would be to "establish protected zones in third countries, to which those arriving in EU Member States, and claiming asylum could be transferred to have their claims processed. These 'transit processing centres' might be on transit routes into the EU. Those given refugee status could then be resettled in participating Member States. Others would be returned to their country of origin" on a cost sharing basis. The others would not be able to remain in the camps and would be sent back to their countries of origin, the text states, assuring that this does not run counter to the Geneva Convention. David Blunkett even proposes to receive in these centres illegal immigrants on their way to the EU before they have submitted a request for asylum but who clearly intend to do so.
According to several diplomats, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, among others, marked their support for the British proposal. Ignacio Gonzales, government delegate for immigration, told several journalists that the proposal was "very interesting", but that it was necessary to look closely at the practical arrangements. Portugal considers that the proposal poses more problems than it resolves, on the legal and logistic level. Portuguese Secretary of State for Home Affairs asked who would manage these camps outside the EU and, according to what body of law. The Germans were the most critical, saying that the new Dublin regulation must make it possible to manage asylum seekers. The German Minister for the Interior, Otto Schily, said he was very sceptical, and that these transit areas are not feasible. Luxembourg national Luc Frieden does not find it a realistic solution either. Finland and Sweden waited to hear Mr Lubbers, but would not have raised any opposition of principle. France did not give its position. The European Commission does not reject the idea of external centres, but, in principle, not according to the British model. In a communication published on Thursday on the implementation of common asylum and protection policy, it suggests that indepth reflection be undertaken on the possibilities opened by the processing of asylum requests outside the EU and reinstallation, as complementary instruments to an effective and equitable territorial asylum system. We shall come back to this. The Commission is to bring together a technical group from next week on in order to prepare a complete document for the European Council of Thessaloniki.