European Commission launches process to reform common asylum system

The European Commission on Wednesday launched the process for a reform of the Common European Asylum System by presenting options for a fair and sustainable system for allocating asylum applicants among European Union (EU) member states.

According to a Commission press release, the large-scale, uncontrolled arrival of migrants and asylum seekers has put a strain not only on many member states' asylum systems, but also on the Common European Asylum System as a whole.

The volume and concentration of arrivals has exposed in particular the weaknesses of the Dublin System, which establishes the member state responsible for examining an asylum application based primarily on the first point of irregular entry.

The differing treatment of asylum seekers across member states has further exacerbated the problem of irregular secondary movements.

The Commission identified several priority areas where the Common European Asylum System should be structurally improved.

To deal better with a high number of arrivals and ensure a fair sharing of responsibility, the Commission could propose to amend the Dublin Regulation, either by streamlining and supplementing it with a corrective fairness mechanism or by moving to a new system based on a distribution key.

The Commission intends to propose a further harmonization of asylum procedures, to ensure a more humane and equal treatment across the EU and reduce pull factors that draw people to a small number of member states.

The Commission could propose a new Regulation to replace the Asylum Procedures Directive, and a new Regulation to replace the Qualification Directive.

"Different national approaches have fuelled asylum shopping and irregular migration, while we have seen in the ongoing crisis that the Dublin rules have placed too much responsibility on just a few member states," said European Commission first Vice-President Frans Timmermans, noting that the refugee crisis has shown the weaknesses in the Common European Asylum System.

The Dublin regulation establishes the criteria and mechanisms for determining which EU member state is responsible for examining an asylum application. The rules aim to ensure quick access to asylum procedure and the examination of an application in substance by a single, clearly determined, member state, an objective which remains valid.

The Dublin system, however, was not designed to ensure a sustainable sharing of responsibilities for asylum applicants across the EU, a shortcoming that has been highlighted by the current crisis. Endit