Ministers bid to firm up EU refugee policy

Date: 28/11/02

By Martin Banks

MAJOR changes to Europe-wide policy on refugees and immigration are set to be agreed by EU interior ministers today (28 November).

The two-day Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) in Brussels is expected to back a raft of key proposals, including:

• a common definition of a refugee;
• minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers, and;
• procedures for dealing with asylum applications.

The proposals aim to provide 'subsidiary' protection for asylum seekers who are not currently covered by the 1951 Geneva Convention. These might include refugees fleeing non-state persecution, such as terrorism, war or other forms of violence.

There are also plans to ensure that, in the future, refugees arriving in a country will have a legal right to access to a lawyer and interpreter.

The package being discussed at the JHA also states that a future EU asylum system should include minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers.

A spokesman for António Vitorino, the justice and home affairs commissioner, said that if political agreement is reached it will represent a major breakthrough.

'These proposals aim to provide a level playing field for asylum seekers. They were first put forward two years ago and it has taken exhaustive and protracted negotiations between member states to get to this stage,' said Leonello Gabrici.

'But, happily, there now appears to be general agreement that this issue needs to be dealt with at EU level.'

He said it was hoped the measures would also help to combat human traffickers who take advantage of differing positions in member states on asylum policy.

If backed by ministers, the measures should be transposed into national law by the end of next year.

A leading refugee welfare organisation, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said it broadly welcomed the proposals.

Johannes van der Klaauw, its senior European affairs officer, said: 'Without a common understanding of who qualifies as a refugee and who does not, the common asylum system will not work.'

But Dick Oosting, director of Amnesty International's EU office, was critical of the plans: 'Instead of concentrating on harmonising protection of refugees at the highest possible level, it is clear that many EU member states are continuing to adopt a go-it-alone approach,' he said.

'Many elements of the EU's so-called common asylum policy may effectively end up as 'empty-boxes' which refer back to national legislation for the critical issues.

'The crisis surrounding the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp in France is indicative of the lack of political will in Europe to deal fairly with refugees. The result is likely to be 'harmonisation' at the lowest common denominator,' added Oosting.

Major changes to Europe-wide policy on refugees and immigration are set to be agreed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels, 28 November 2002.