Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04BRUSSELS1911
2004-05-03 13:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

EU AGREES ON ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE

Tags:  PREF PREL CMGT CVIS SMIG KCRM EUN USEU BRUSSELS 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001911 

SIPDIS

DHS FOR IAO, BORDER PATROL
DOJ FOR CRM
ROME ALSO FOR INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL CMGT CVIS SMIG KCRM EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU AGREES ON ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE

REF: (A) USEU BRUSSELS 1448;

(B) USEU BRUSSELS 742;
(C) USEU BRUSSELS 309

SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001911

SIPDIS

DHS FOR IAO, BORDER PATROL
DOJ FOR CRM
ROME ALSO FOR INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL CMGT CVIS SMIG KCRM EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU AGREES ON ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE

REF: (A) USEU BRUSSELS 1448;

(B) USEU BRUSSELS 742;
(C) USEU BRUSSELS 309

SUMMARY
--------------


1. The EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on April
29 reached political agreement on a draft Directive
imposing minimum standards on procedures in Member
States for granting and withdrawing refugee status.
Coupled with the formal adoption of the Asylum
Qualification Directive on the same day, the deal
sets out the bases of a Common EU Asylum System as
envisaged under the EU Tampere program and in
keeping with the target of the Amsterdam Treaty.
UNHCR, however, has raised concerns that the new EU
Directive "may lead in practice to breaches of
international refugee law." Full text of the Council
conclusions has been transmitted to EUR/ERA.
Justice issues discussed at the meeting will be
reported SEPTEL. END SUMMARY.

"MINIMUM STANDARDS" DIRECTIVE
--------------


2. The Irish Presidency at the April 29 meeting of
EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Ministers in
Luxembourg succeeded in its goal to record political
agreement on the Asylum Procedures Directive that
lays down minimum standards on procedures in Member
States for the grant and withdrawal of refugee
status. The accord, which remains subject to
parliamentary scrutiny reservations, ends three and
a half years of negotiations in which Germany and
the UK held major reservations at various stages.
It enables the EU to complete the first stage of a
Common European Asylum System within the five-year
deadline (May 1, 2004) set by the 1999 Tampere
European Council and the Amsterdam Treaty. The
Directive is the final building block of this first
stage, described by EU officials as "minimum
standards legislation."


3. The Directive deals with matters such as right
of access to an asylum procedure, requirements for
the examination of asylum applications and
guarantees for applicants (interviews, consultation
with UNHCR, access to legal aid, etc.),obligations
for applicants to cooperate with the asylum

determination process and nature of outcome to be
expected where an applicant fails to cooperate. The
Irish Presidency said the Directive provided for "an
effective remedy/appeal against negative first
instance decisions in asylum applications and a
legal framework for the application of the safe
country of origin and safe third country concepts in
EU law."


4. Final difficulties related to the potential use
of lists of countries to keep asylum seekers out of
the EU territory or to expedite handling of asylum
applications (REFTEL). Member States agreed to
establish a minimum list of safe countries of
origin, whereby asylum applicants coming from those
countries will have their application denied by an
accelerated procedure. However, in order to secure
the necessary consensus, the Irish Presidency made
the text somewhat less detailed than the
Commission's original proposal. The Council
"undertook to conduct during the coming months an in-
depth assessment of countries that may be included
in a minimum common EU list of safe countries of
origin to ensure that they fulfill the criteria in
the Directive." Taking account of substantive
changes with respect to the text on which the
European parliament was originally consulted, the
Council decided to re-consult before formal
adoption.


5. The UNHCR issued a statement expressing "regret"
that the EU missed an opportunity to adopt high
standards with regard to asylum. A press communique
by UNHCR argued that the new EU Directive "may lead
in practice to breaches of international refugee
law." The most worrisome provisions of the
Directive, it said, relate to "safe third countries"
to which asylum seekers may be returned and lack of
appeal procedures. JHA Commissioner Vitorino at the
final press conference rebutted "NGOs' concerns,"
saying that the standards agreed in the Directive
were consistent with international obligations of
the Member States, such as the Refugee Convention
and the European Convention on Human Rights. Though
he would not deny that the "level of ambition" of
the agreed text was lower than the original and
amended versions of the Commission proposal,
Vitorino stressed that the deal provides for "the
same safeguards" for asylum applicants across the
EU: comprehensive information about the procedure at
the start of the process, access to legal
assistance, the right to an interview and a
motivated decision in writing by an authority
qualified in refugee law.


6. According to the Commission, the Directive will
ensure that all negative decisions on asylum
applications in the EU are subject to judicial
scrutiny. Member States can provide lower
safeguards only in three very specific situations
defined in the Directive:

-- Where an applicant arrives at the border and
makes an application which can be considered
unfounded within four weeks;

-- Where an applicant makes, after a previous
procedure, a new application without bringing
forward any new relevant facts,

-- Where the applicant could have asked for asylum
in a third country, which is considered safe by
a Decision of the Council because the third
country fully respects the Refugee Convention
and the European Convention of Human Rights.

QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE
--------------


7. The Council also formally adopted without
discussion the Directive on minimum standards for
the qualification and status of third country
national or stateless persons as refugees or as
persons who otherwise need international protection
and the content of the protection granted (REFTEL
and previous). The March 30 JHA Council had reached
Agreement on the text subject to a parliamentary
scrutiny reservation by the Dutch delegation.

A COMMON EU ASYLUM SYSTEM
--------------


8. Mc Dowell and Vitorino said the deal on the two
Directives, together with the other legislative
instruments on asylum already adopted by the
Council, would guarantee a minimum level of
protection and procedural safeguards in all Member
States for those who are genuinely in need of
international protection, while preventing abuses of
asylum applications that undermine the credibility
of the system. Vitorino said: This "effectively
means that the first phase of the Common European
Asylum System has now been established. Both
Directives will significantly contribute to a common
approach across all 25 EU Member States. The
Directives will promote mutual confidence in Member
States' asylum systems in the EU, where only one
Member State will be responsible for a particular
application."

OTHER BUSINESS
--------------


9. The Commission briefly updated the Council on
the state of play concerning visa reciprocity and
its recent proposal requesting a Council mandate to
negotiate with the Russian Federation a visa
facilitation agreement.


10. Among other decisions taken without discussion,
the Council formally adopted:

-- A Directive on the residence permit issued to
victims of trafficking in human beings from non-
EU countries or to non-EU nationals who have
been the subject of an action to facilitate
illegal immigration who cooperate with the
competent authorities;

-- A Council Directive on the obligation of
carriers to communicate passenger data (REF.A);

-- A Decision on the organization of joint flights
for removals, from the territory of two or more
Member States, of non-EU nationals who are
subjects of individual removal orders;

-- A Regulation concerning the introduction of
some new functions for the Schengen Information
Systems, including in the fight against
terrorism;

-- Conclusions on the location, management and
financing of the new second generation SIS.
Minister Mc Dowell thanked France and Austria
for making their respective facilities at
Strasbourg (central part of SIS II) and
Salzburg (business continuity site) available
for the system. The decisions will enable the
Commission to have the requisite facilities
available for the contractor selected to
develop the system, thus ensuring that the
timetable for developing SIS II is maintained;

-- Decisions amending the Common Schengen Manual
to include provision for targeted border
controls on accompanied minors and to use a
standard forum for refusal of entry;

-- A Decision determining the minimum indications
to be used on signs at external border crossing
points.

COMMENT
--------------


11. The fact that the final text of the Procedures
Directive does not have "as high a level of
ambition" as the Commission originally envisaged
reflects both the unanimity requirement and the
sensitive character of asylum issues in many EU
countries. However, the Directive will contribute
to creating a level playing field in the area of
asylum in the 25 Member States. Experience will
show whether this will enhance mutual confidence in
Member States' systems. The deal opens the way to
the second stage of the Common European Asylum
System and allows further approximation of Member
States legislation and practice. Future EU
legislation in this area will include co-decision
with the European Parliament and allow for qualified-
majority voting in the Council.

FOSTER