Spotlight: European Parliament advocates centralized asylum system

A centralized asylum system would allow the European Union to better manage flows of migrants and asylum seekers,the European Parliament (EP) said on Tuesday.

In a non-binding resolution, members of European Parliament (MEPs) acknowledged the failure of the EU asylum system to cope with ever-rising numbers of migrant arrivals and called for a radical overhaul of the Dublin rules.

Moreover, they proposed establishing a central system for collecting and allocating asylum applications. The plan, which could include a quota for each EU member, would work on the basis of "hotspots" from which refugees would be distributed.

"There is no quick fix for migration, no magic silver bullet. We do not need more emergency solutions, we need a sustainable approach for the future," said MEP Roberta Metsola during an EP plenary debate.

"Migration should not be combated, it should be managed," added MEP Kashetu Kyenge, insisting that the European approach should be based on solidarity and responsibility sharing.

The EP underlined that the current asylum system does not take proper account of the particular migratory pressures faced by members with EU external borders. Therefore, the institution demanded changes to ensure fairness and shared responsibility, solidarity and swift processing of applications.

The MEPs called on EU members to fulfill their obligations with regard to urgent relocation measures. They stressed that, so far, only a minimal part of the 106,000 asylum seekers awaiting reassignment from Italy and Greece to other EU countries had actually been relocated.

On resettlement, MEPs insisted that the EU needs a "binding and mandatory legislative approach."

The European Commission committed itself to presenting a legislative proposition in this direction before the summer, in order to revise the Dublin III regulations which determine which member state is responsible for handling an asylum request. But many members of the EU are fiercely opposed even in principle to a relocation mechanism for asylum seekers.

The resolution passed Tuesday by the European Parliament also pleads for the installation of safe and legal channels permitting entry into the bloc of people coming from third countries, so migrants will not have to recourse to human smugglers at the risk of their lives. Endit