Commission told to change asylum-seeker return law

An EU-wide law which allows asylum-seekers to be sent back to the member state in which they first entered the EU is causing suffering for applicants and should be reformed, according to a group representing refugees.

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) has urged the European Commission, ahead of a review of the law, to make changes in ten areas which affect child asylum-seekers, separated families and sick or traumatised applicants.

Under the law, known as the Dublin Regulation, some states penalise applicants who are sent back to them for their applications to be processed by not giving them a full and fair hearing, according to ECRE. When applicants appeal against their transfer to the state in which they first entered the EU, the transfer is often not halted pending the appeal.

ECRE also criticises the treatment of children, who can be transferred back to states where they lodged asylum applications. "Children sometimes are not even aware that they have claimed asylum," said Chris Nash, senior legal officer at ECRE. The treatment of children varies widely across the EU, ranging from the UK where they are immediately referred to social services for support to Greece where no such services are provided, said Nash. Cases exist where a child’s age was disputed, requiring medical assessments, thereby further traumatising vulnerable youngsters, Nash added.

The law should also be changed to stop people who have medical or psychological problems being transferred back to countries where proper facilities are not provided. The regulation should put a halt to states automatically detaining people while assessing whether they should be transferred to another state, ECRE said.

A Commission spokes-man said that the review assessing how the law was working was expected within two weeks.

Pressure is also coming from some member states for change to the regulation, with some, in particular Malta, keen to see other EU states sharing the responsibility of assessing asylum applicants.

An EU-wide law which allows asylum-seekers to be sent back to the member state in which they first entered the EU is causing suffering for applicants and should be reformed, according to a group representing refugees.