Roundup: Asylum system in Europe needs to be reassessed: experts

As the movements of refugees and migrants to Europe from places war and economic failure continue in rapid pace, the asylum system in Europe needs to be reassessed in a sustainable way, according to participants of an international conference hosted by the Greek Asylum Service here on Monday.

The challenges of the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal, the "Greek experiment" and the prospects of a single European asylum system were among the main topics of the conference, as more than a million people have crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece from Turkey since the start of 2015 and continued their journey to central and northern European countries.

According to Greek Asylum Service's latest figures, the number of asylum applications received in 2014 stood at 786 on average every month, while in 2015 that number reached 1,100.

After the gradual closing of borders along the Balkan route to central Europe in mid-February, a total of 54,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece.

Since the EU-Turkey deal took effect on March 20, the applications have risen dramatically. In March there were 2,956 and In April there were 3,700, along with 6,605 simple registrations.

"We should keep in mind that there are 46,000 potential asylum seekers in the mainland," the Director of the Greek Asylum Service Maria Stavropoulou highlighted during the conference.

"At this time we run an experiment for the agency, the country and of course Europe," she pointed out.

Under such difficult circumstances, the Asylum Service in Greece has become the spearhead of efforts to address the challenge, the Greek Minister of Migration Policy Ioannis Mouzalas stressed.

"The implementation of the EU-Turkey deal depends on the Asylum Service's capability to address the challenges that come up," Mouzalas said.

From his part, Deputy director-general in the European Commission and EU Coordinator to implement the EU-Turkey statement, Maarten Verwey urged the Asylum Service in Greece to speed up the pace of asylum applications.

In addition, he stressed that there must be improvements in the conditions and security in hotspot areas, to monitor migrants going back to Turkey and to increase pace of resettlements from Turkey to Europe.

Examining the criteria which need to be fulfilled for an asylum seeker to be returned with safety to a country, the concept of "safe third country can be characterized as a curse or a blessing, said Ann Mayman, representative of the UNHCR in Greece.

"It can be considered a curse by some because member states are using it to prevent refugees and asylum seekers from entering safe territories and be protected. Blessing because it is a tool that can manage flows crossing borders and risking their lives," she said.

According to Mayman, the "safe third country" concept can be an effective method to manage large number of people.

However, its implementation must be based on a number of safeguards in law and in practice through specific procedures.

"It is important to review in general if it is reasonable to implement 'safe third country' concepts and to explore solidarity measures and responsibility sharing among regions," she added.

For Kris Pollet, Senior Legal and Policy Officer at European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), it is too early to assess the EU-Turkey deal despite the drop in arrivals in the Greek islands.

"The main issues that need to be addressed are the effective access to legal assistance and conditions of safety near hotspots," Pollet remarked.

"It is clear that European Commission makes the 'safe third country' concept the center piece of the future common European asylum system," he noted.

Concerning the current asylum system in Europe, the Deputy Director of Migration Policy at the Ministry of Security and Justice of Netherlands, Peter Diez, said that it is inadequate due to lack of compliance.

He suggested a simplified system, with prevention of secondary movements.

From his part, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College Oxford, Guy Goodwin-Gill, said that something more radical needs to be done. "A European migration and protection agency competent for refugees and migrants in need of protection would be a good start".

"We know that an effective common asylum system requires EU commitment to well managed borders, equitable migration management with the states, quality decision making on protection, solidarity cooperation support and sharing responsibilities," he added.

So, a single European Asylum Service will be the future of asylum in Europe?

According to Diez, this is not realistic in the short term.

"If such a proposal were to be put on the table by the European Commission, it would be dead in less than a week."

He stressed that would be the end goal which has to go step by step, because migration issues are very sensitive .

"The majority of the states still want to be in control of those admitted in their territory and not to be told by anyone else than their authorities who should be in or out. Everybody can understand that such a vision for a such an agency is in the long term," Goodwin-Gill stressed. Endit