Brussels, 28/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - National standards for reception conditions for asylum seekers must be the subject of increased harmonisation, said the European commissioner for immigration issues, Franco Frattini, on the occasion of the publication of a report assessing the transposition of the 2003 directive on entry conditions by the member states, on Monday 26 November. “The priority is to establish identical rules for conditions for reception: for this reason, I intend to propose changes to the directive, in order to limit the discretionary power this gives regarding the level and form of material conditions for reception, access to employment and health care, rights under the freedom of movement and identification, together with care for vulnerable persons”, said the commissioner in a press release. The commissioner plans to present an action plan in July 2008 for the next years in the field of asylum, together with the amendment of several pieces of legislation, including the directive on reception conditions for refugees (EUROPE 9540). These initiatives will be presented once the consultation on the Green Paper of last June on the future joint European asylum regime has come to an end (EUROPE 9440).
Generally speaking, the directive has been transposed satisfactorily in the majority of the member states, the Commission notes. There are, however “serious problems” in seven member states - the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Luxembourg and Cyprus - which fail to respect the minimum standards laid down by the directive, particularly regarding detention centres for asylum seekers. Austria also contravenes the rules for transit zones. On the procedures to be followed upon the arrival of the asylum seekers, Germany has not fully transposed one provision of the directive, which provides that the member states must provide asylum seekers with written information on their rights (e.g. legal assistance) and obligations, in a language which they can understand. Various states do not give enough information on bodies providing assistance (Cyprus, Slovenia, Germany and Malta). The number of languages in which information is available varies from three (Malta) to 34 (Austria). Similarly, several member states are failing to ensure that asylum seekers receive a certificate issued in their name attesting to their status as asylum seeker, within three days of tabling their application: Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Greece and Spain. Others have brought in a clear timescale, which they have not yet come into line with in practice (Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and France). The report also notes differences between the states in terms of housing, food and clothing given to the asylum seekers. Some member states have a generally poor level in reception conditions (Lithuania and Greece), and others are still experiencing a shortage of places available for their asylum seekers (Cyprus, Italy and France). Furthermore, financial allocations made in certain countries, such as Cyprus, France, Estonia, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia, are in many cases too low to allow the asylum seekers to cover their needs. The report reveals that one of the main shortcomings in the application of the directive regards covering the requirements of the most vulnerable asylum seekers, including child victims of abuse, negligence or exploitation. In certain cases, no specific legal provision has been adopted (Estonia, France, Hungary, Latvia and Luxembourg) and serious problems may occur in member states which have not banned the practice of detaining asylum seekers with specific needs. The report notes that detaining vulnerable asylum seekers should be considered as a last resort. On a positive note, however, all member states are able to guarantee at the very least access to emergency healthcare, which includes asylum seekers who have been detained. Most member states have extended access to include non-emergency healthcare, and some of them go as far as to grant the same level of access as their own nationals enjoy (the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Poland).
The member states were to have transposed the directive on reception conditions by 6 February 2005. This applies to all member states with the exception of Ireland and Denmark. No information is available for Romania and Bulgaria, due to their recent accession to the European Union.
The figures show that the number of asylum requests made in the EU has fallen constantly over recent years. In 2006, nearly 200,000 asylum applications were made in the Union, which represents a fall of 17% compared to 2005 and of 53% compared to 2002. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (HCR), this is the lowest figure for nearly 20 years. The countries receiving the most asylum seekers in 2006 were France (30,690 applications), the United Kingdom (27,850) and Sweden (24,320). In comparison with their population levels, Cyprus (59 applications per 10,000 inhabitants), Malta (31) and Sweden (27) receive the most asylum requests. (B.C.)