EU Reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is in a mess
11 October 2018
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EU
Reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is in a mess
- disagreement amongst Member States blocking adoption
11.10.18
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The Austrian Presidency of the Council has produced a report on the state of play within the Council while trying to agree its negotiating position: From: Presidency To: Permanent Representatives Committee/Council (LIMITE doc no: 12420-18, pdf). There are no fewer than six previous versions.
Each of the seven measures are held up because some delegations (Member States) in the Council are opposed to changes made or proposed unacceptable changes to the Council's original, agreed, negotiating position on which trilogue talks are based.
On its part the European Parliament - after many trilogue meetings - stands by the agreement reached in June on three measures: the Qualifications Directive, Reception Directive and the Resettlement Regulation.
The CEAS package:
"On 4 May and 13 July 2016, the Commission submitted seven legislative proposals aimed at reforming the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This package included the recast of the Dublin Regulation and of the Eurodac Regulation, a proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), a proposal for a Regulation establishing a Common Procedure for International Protection in the EU, a proposal for a Qualification Regulation, the recast of the Reception Conditions Directive and a proposal for a Regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework."
However by the time of the European Council meeting on 28-29 June 2018 it could only report on:
"the tireless efforts of the Bulgarian and previous Presidencies, underlined the need to find a speedy solution to the whole package..."
State of play of the CEAS files
A. DUBLIN REGULATION
"the Austrian Presidency has continued looking for possible solutions for the overall balance between solidarity and responsibility. To this end, bilateral meetings with all Member States were held during summer at which alternative solutions within the new overall context were considered, including possible ways of taking into account the disembarkation element. In the bilateral talks it was therefore explored whether the comprehensive approach referred to by the European Council could include different forms of solidarity to be made available to the Member State under pressure, to which each Member State would be required to contribute." [emphasis added throughout]
The Justice and Home Affairs Council will discuss the results of these "bilateral" meetings - in other words no agreement has been reached.
B. RECEPTION CONDITIONS DIRECTIVE
"At the COREPER meeting on 29 November 2017, the Estonian Presidency obtained a mandate on the recast of the Reception Conditions Directive with broad support to start negotiations with the European Parliament. At the eighth trilogue meeting on 14 June 2018, a provisional agreement was reached between the EP Rapporteur and the then, Bulgarian Presidency. The text of the provisional agreement was presented to COREPER meeting on 20 June but did not achieve the necessary support from delegations." [Member States]
The European Parliament however says it stands by the "provisional agreement" reached in June.
C. QUALIFICATION REGULATION
The same position of the parliament holds on this measure too.
The negotiations with the European Parliament started in September 2017 for the "provisional agreement" with the European Parliament reached by the Bulgarian Presidency on 14 June 2018 at the eighth trilogue.
However:
"The text of the provisional agreement was presented to COREPER on 19 June 2018 but it did not achieve the necessary support from delegations."
D. ASYLUM PROCEDURES REGULATION
"The Presidency continued the examination of the Asylum Procedure Regulation at the level of JHA Counsellors in July and September with a view of achieving a Council position. While the majority of the provisions only need some further fine-tuning, there are still some outstanding issues which prove difficult to agree: the border procedure (mandatory vs optional nature) and the definition of final decision."
These discussions also affect the Returns Directive and "controlled centres".
E. EURODAC REGULATION
Seven trilogues with the parliament have taken place: However:
"At the trilogue of 19 June the Bulgarian Presidency and the rapporteur managed to agree on most of the outstanding issues concerning the transfer of data to third countries for the purpose of returns and the taking of biometric data from minors. However, on the data storage period for asylum seekers the Presidency reserved its position pending more clarity on the duration of stable responsibility in the Dublin Regulation."
Agreement on this Regulation also affects the planned creation of a centralised database of biometrics and personal data (See: Statewatch Observatory: Creation of a centralised Justice & Home Affairs database)
F. EU Asylum Agency Regulation (EUAA)
On 12 September 2018, the Commission presented an amended proposal for the EUAA Regulation, which builds on the provisional agreement reached by the co-legislators in 2017.
"The amended proposal further builds on the provisional agreement concerning the operational and technical assistance enabling the Agency to carry out the entire procedure for international protection or parts of the procedure without prejudice to the competence of national competent authorities to take decisions on individual applications. (...)
The first examination of the amended EUAA proposal by the Asylum Working Party took place under the Austrian Presidency on 25 September 2018 and a meeting of JHA Counsellors on 8 October 2018. Discussions will be continued on the level of JHA Counsellors with a view to agree on a mandate and start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as possible."
G. RESETTLEMENT REGULATION
The inter-institutional negotiations started in December 2017 and six trilogues have taken place in 2018 under the Bulgarian Presidency:
"The text of the provisional agreement was presented to COREPER on 20 June 2018 but it did not achieve the necessary support from delegations."
While the European Parliament again indicated that:
"in view of the provisional agreement reached in the June trilogue meeting, it stands by the agreement reached therein. "
Reform of the Common European Asylum System and Resettlement
a) Dublin Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (recast) (First reading)
b) Reception Conditions Directive: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast) (First reading)
c) Qualification Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection and for the content of the protection granted and amending Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents (First reading)
d) Asylum Procedure Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common procedure for international protection in the Union and repealing Directive 2013/32/EU (First reading)
e) Eurodac Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of [Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person], for identifying an illegally staying third-country national or stateless person and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States' law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes (recast)
f) EU Asylum Agency Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 (First reading)
g) Resettlement Framework Regulation: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Union Resettlement Framework and amending Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council (First reading)
Background
Reforming the 'Common European Asylum System' and the resettlement system: progress report (Statewatch News)
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