Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision on the temporary suspension of the relocation of 30% of applicants allocated to Austria under Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece

As part of the common policy on asylum, Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) provides a specific legal basis to deal with emergency situations. Based on a proposal by the European Commission, it enables the Council, after consulting the European Parliament, to adopt provisional measures for the benefit of Member State(s) confronted with an emergency situation characterised by a sudden inflow of nationals of third countries into one or more Member State(s). The provisional measures envisaged by Article 78(3) TFEU are exceptional in nature. They can only be triggered when a certain threshold of urgency and severity of the problems created in the Member State(s)' asylum system(s) by a sudden inflow of third country nationals is met.

On the basis of Article 78(3) TFEU, the Council adopted two Decisions establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece. Under Council Decision (EU) 2015/1523 40,000 applicants for international protection are to be relocated from Italy and Greece to the other Member States. Under Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 120,000 applicants for international protection are to be relocated from Italy and Greece and from other Member States if they are confronted to an emergency situation. Under Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 3,551 persons are allocated to Austria for relocation from Italy and Greece.

According to Article 4(5) of the Decision 2015/1601, a Member State may, in exceptional circumstances, by 26 December 2015, notify the Council and the Commission that it is temporarily unable to take part in the relocation process of up to 30% of applicants allocated to it, giving duly justified reasons compatible with the fundamental values of the Union enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. The Commission should assess the reasons given and submit proposals to the Council regarding a temporary suspension of the relocation of up to 30% of applicants allocated to the Member State concerned. Where justified, the Commission may propose to extend the time limit for relocating the applicants in the remaining allocation by up to 12 months beyond the date referred to in Article 13(2).

By letter of 16 December 2015, Austria notified the Commission and the Council that it is confronted with a situation as referred to in Article 4(3) in Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 of 22 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece, giving reasons and requesting an adaptation of the relocation mechanism for the benefit of Austria. By letter of 22 December 2015, Austria requested to benefit from a temporary suspension of the relocation of up to 30% of applicants allocated to Austria under Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 and from an extension of the time limit for relocating the applicants in the remaining allocation by 12 months beyond the date referred to in Article 13(2) of Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601.

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)80: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=CELEX:52016PC0080

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