News Release
Antonio Vitorino
No 69/04
April 30, 2004
EU COMMISSION WELCOMES COUNCIL'S AGREEMENT ON COMMON EUROPEAN
ASYLUM SYSTEM
The Council today formally adopted the
Directive on a common definition of who is a refugee or otherwise requires
international protection and the rights and benefits which attach to each status
(the Qualification Directive). The Council also reached political agreement on
the Asylum Procedures Directive, in which Member States take a common approach
to processing asylum applications in the EU. These Directives, together with the
other legislative instruments on asylum already adopted by the Council guarantee
a minimum level of protection and procedural safeguards in all Member States for
those who are genuinely in need of international protection, whilst preventing
abuses of asylum applications which undermine the credibility of the system.
Welcoming the agreement, Commissioner for
Justice and Home Affairs
António Vitorino said: "Together with the formal adoption of the Qualification
Directive, the agreement reached by the Council on the Asylum Procedures Directive
effectively means that the first phase of the Common European Asylum System has
now been established." He also said: "The importance of this
agreement cannot be underestimated. Both Directives will significantly contribute
to a common approach across all 25 EU Member States. The Directives will promote
mutual confidence in Member States' asylum systems in the EU where only one Member
State will be responsible for a particular application."
The Commissioner further commented that the agreement of the two Directives
would enable further approximation of Member States' legislation and practice
in this area, which will now be governed by the rules of qualified majority voting
and will include co-decision with the European Parliament.
The Asylum Procedures Directive
The Directive will ensure that throughout the EU, all procedures at first instance
are subject to the same minimum standards, while maintaining consistency with
international obligations in this field. Accelerated and regular procedures provide
the same safeguards for applicants and the Directive is flexible enough to allow
Member States to tackle fraud and misuse of their systems.
The Directive also seeks to harmonise as much as possible national measures to
speed up the examination of asylum applications and also that all negative decisions
on asylum applications have the possibility of judicial scrutiny.
The Directive guarantees the right to be invited to an interview for asylum applicants
as well as the basic principles and guarantees for the examination of claims.
The introduction of the principle of effective remedy will also send an important
signal to national judges. The European Court of Justice will ultimately rule
on the interpretation of these provisions by Member States. The Directive also
provides for exceptions for unfounded cases which will help resources focus on
more deserving cases.
The Qualification Directive
The adoption of the Council Directive on minimum standards for the qualification
and status of third country nationals and stateless persons as refugees or as
persons who otherwise need international protection (the Qualification Directive)
constitutes an important milestone in the development of a common approach to
asylum in the EU. The Directive contains a clear set of criteria for qualifying
either for refugee or subsidiary protection status and sets out what rights are
attached to each status.
A harmonized regime for subsidiary protection at EU level for those persons
outside the scope of the Refugee Convention but still in need of international
protection, such as victims of generalized violence or civil war, is of paramount
importance given the increasing numbers of persons in need of that type of protection
in the Member States.
The Directive also clarifies that in the determination of protection status
the actor of persecution is irrelevant and can include non-state actors such as
militia. This goes some way to reducing the differences in interpretation of the
Convention which existed in Member States up till now.
Importantly the Directive also allows for the recognition as a refugee of
those persons who have a well founded fear of being persecuted on account of their
sexual orientation or gender.
The Directive also contains measures to combat misuse of asylum systems of Member
states. It is particularly clear that the EU should not become a safe haven for
terrorists who apply
for asylum. Tough clauses on exclusion from both refugee status and subsidiary
protection status are included in the Directive to prevent the abuse of asylum
systems by those who could be a threat to the security of the EU or who have committed
serious crimes.
Background - History and context of the Directives
The Qualification and the Procedures Directives are based on Article 63(1)
(c) and (d) of the Treaty
establishing the European Community. The Directives are binding for current
and new Member States except for Denmark (according to a protocol attached to
the Treaty Denmark is not bound by the measures taken under title IV of the Treaty).
The proposals for the two Directives by the Commission were included in the
Scoreboard to review progress on the creation of an area of freedom, security
and justice in the European Union adopted by the Commission on 24 March
2000 and approved by the Council. The proposals addressed directly the conclusions
of the extraordinary European Council in
Tampere of 15-16 October 1999, which called for the establishment of a Common
European Asylum System which should include, in the short term, a clear and
workable determination of the State responsible for the examination of an asylum
application, common standards for a fair and efficient asylum procedure, common
minimum conditions of reception of asylum seekers, and the approximation of rules
on the recognition and content of the refugee status. It should also be completed
with measures on subsidiary forms of protection offering an appropriate status
to any person in need of such protection.
On 11 December 2000, the Council adopted a Regulation (2725/2000/EC)
concerning the establishment of "Eurodac"
for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin
Convention on the State responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged
in one of the European Union Member States.
On 20 July 2001, the Council adopted a
Directive on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event
of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts
between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof.
On 27 January 2003, the Council adopted a
Directive on minimum standards on the reception of applicants for asylum in
Member States.
On 18 February the Council adopted a
Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member
State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member
States by a third country national.
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Press Contacts:
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Anthony Gooch
202-862-9523
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Maeve O'Beirne
202-862-9549
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