Brussels, 03/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - If Europe wishes to remain a host region, it must offer more protection to asylum seekers, Commissioner for Justice, Liberty and Security Jacques Barrot announced on Wednesday 3 December. "Our objective is to put asylum seekers at the heart of a humane and fair procedure", he said, after the European Commission's adoption of a number of proposals designed to reinforce the rights of asylum candidates. The package of measures aims to amend three pieces of legislation: the Dublin II regulation, the directive on the conditions for welcoming asylum seekers and the Eurodac regulation (see EUROPE 9795). "These measures constitute the first stage of the European pact on immigration and asylum", stressed Mr Barrot, who has many times said that he wants to "move on from pacts to acts". The procedure laid down by Dublin II stipulates that the asylum application must be made and dealt with in the first host State of the applicant. "This is a systematic procedure which is little concerned with the asylum seeker, who really must become central to this mechanism", said Mr Barrot. In order to achieve this objective, the European executive is proposing to relax the regulation to take greater account of the needs of asylum seekers as regards children, but in particular, unaccompanied minors, family reunification, and the possibility of having access to free legal assistance and an interpreter. The aid will be paid in full by the member states, although the Commission has the option to grant funding. Another important new feature of the text was announced by Mr Barrot: the Commission may decide to suspend transfers to a member state in the event of particular pressure, or if access to asylum procedures is inadequate. As regards the revision of the directive on host conditions, the commissioner reiterated the key notions of a new text, such as the principle of non-detention, except under exceptional circumstances, the ban on the detention of minors, the protection of the most vulnerable asylum seekers, extra protection for children, access to healthcare and material conditions of reception which correspond to the level of social assistance granted to nationals, offer of facilitated access to the employment market after six months (instead of 12 currently) for all asylum seekers, the allocation of pocket money, the quality of host centres and increased legal assistance. As to any changes regarding the Eurodac, the Commission hopes to cut the time taken to send digital fingerprints to 48 hours and improve data protection.
"The Commission's proposals are positive overall. We hope that the Parliament, but most of all the member states, will react favourably to the reinforcement of the rights of asylum seekers", said Gilles Van Moortel, Spokesperson to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Brussels. Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) Bjarte Vandvik said: "We are pleased to note that the proposal will allow all asylum seekers access to the employment market earlier. They may make their contribution to society if there are given the chance to do so". A number of countries already allow asylum seekers faster access to the employment market: Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Spain. This idea did not, however, go down well with the EPP-ED Group. "This does not make much sense. The member states must have flexibility, because they must base their decisions on the actual situation in the employment market", said Germany's Manfred Weber (EPP-ED), in a press release (our translation). Whilst the Commission hopes to harmonise the way in which member states assist asylum seekers financially, Mr Weber indicated that his group would prefer the member states to be able to continue to choose whether to give direct financial support or provide assistance in kind. Mr Weber also takes the view that suspending the transfer of an asylum seeker, by virtue of the amendment to Dublin II, should remain possible "by individual request, but not in the framework of a generalised and automatic procedure". He concluded by regretting the fact that the police will not have direct access to Eurodac.
The number of asylum requests in the EU was 197,410 in 2006, 222,170 in 2007 and 111,494 in the first half of 2008. In 2007, the EU saw an increase of 12% in requests compared to 2006. 2006 saw the lowest figures for 20 years. The ratios of the countries most affected in 2007 (asylum requests per 1000 inhabitants) were: Cyprus (8.69), Sweden (3.97) and Malta (3.38). The EU average was 0.45. The countries which recorded the highest numbers of asylum seekers in 2007 were Sweden (36,025), France (29,160), the United Kingdom (27,905) and Greece (25,115). The order was as follows for the first half of 2008: France (18,607), the United Kingdom (14,545), Germany (13,876) and Sweden (12,462). Major differences exist between the member states as regards decisions on asylum requests. In some member states, the percentage of positive decisions is around 50% of all decisions made: Italy, Sweden and Malta. In others, less than 3% of decisions taken are positive: Slovakia, Greece and Slovenia. By way of example, a Chechnyan has a 72% chance of being protected in Austria and 0% in Slovakia. An Iraqi has a 71% chance of obtaining protection in Sweden, and a 2% chance in Greece. (B.C./transl.fl)