Luxembourg, 05/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - German Minister of the Interior, Otto Schily, believes that adoption of the directive on the status for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection will probably be postponed till the Italian Presidency during the next half of the year. On Thursday he declared to journalists (barely after the end of the Home Affairs Council had brought it up) that, just because the German Minister had indicated that although they were part of discussions, they were not prepared to go back on the numerous demands for derogation on the rights of subsidiary protection (EUROPE 4 June p 11). The dossier will be discussed at the next Coreper meetings but the German Minister indicated that he did not see how the draft could be adopted, even by the European Council of Thessaloniki, if there were no agreement at the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Many are criticising him for his refusals for harmonisation and preventing them finding an end to "asylum shopping", the phenomenon where candidates for asylum go to countries where reception is much more sympathetic. Otto Schilly is trying to turn this argument on its head: he declares that on the contrary, to decide in a general way unrestricted access to social welfare, would strengthen "asylum shopping" because some countries, like Germany, have a more generous policy.
If no policy agreement is reached on this paper this month, the Fifteen will not be able to respect the objective they set at Seville.