New, stricter asylum rules: country of entry principle gives way to true solidarity mechanism

Only 28% of asylum seekers have been relocated from Greece and Italy based on the current EU schemes. Just a number of Member States have accepted a significant number of refugees in the last few years of migratory pressures in the EU. The reform of the Dublin system, which was adopted today by the European Parliament’s Committee on the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, aims at changing these patterns. The new common asylum rules are based on two elements: solidarity between the Member States and security for EU citizens.

Alessandra Mussolini MEP, the EPP Group negotiator in complex talks on the new draft legislation in the European Parliament, explained: “The cornerstone of the new Dublin system is that all Member States have to play their part in ensuring a fair distribution of responsibility in the management of migration flows. The deletion of the first country of entry criterion and its replacement with a permanent corrective allocation mechanism were essential steps for a truly solidary system the EU needs. Certain Member States will no longer be obliged to carry the burden of taking care of asylum seekers alone.”

She stressed however: “There cannot be solidarity without security. The new Dublin rules will ensure that all arriving migrants are subject to strict security checks. Furthermore, it will be guaranteed that those who are not genuine refugees are not transferred throughout Europe, but promptly returned.” The legislative proposal obliges countries where asylum seekers enter first to carry out a security verification including checks against the relevant Union’s and national databases. At the same time, people who are not in need of asylum protection will be prevented from entering the Dublin system. “I am proud of what we have achieved: a system which does not leave any Member State behind and that guarantees our citizens the security they deserve”, added Mussolini.

According to the new Dublin rules, there will be four criteria determining the Member State responsible for the examination of an asylum application. If none of the first three of them - family members already living in a Member State, former visa or residence permit and diploma from a Member State - applies, an asylum seeker will be relocated to Member States receiving the lowest number of applicants relative to their GDP and population. The committee’s report proposed that any Member State that refuses to relocate applicants under the new mechanism would be sanctioned through a reduction of EU funds.

The proposal is part of a first set of legislative proposals the European Commission presented in the context of a major reform of the Common European Asylum System.