European Parliament votes for improvements of the Dublin System
Common European Asylum Policy
In the past years, the European solidarity crisis and its human tragedies have exposed the flaws of our Common European Asylum System. The Dublin System, for instance - which determines which Member State is responsible for an asylum claim in the EU - has been dysfunctional for years, putting disproportionate pressure on a few Member States, like Greece and Italy. Today, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee has voted on a proposal for its revision that ensures greater solidarity between Member States.
The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has been calling for a new system based on solidarity and responsibility sharing that gives priority to asylum seekers’ family ties and other meaningful links. The proposal approved this, scraps the first country of entry criterion as a country responsible for an asylum application and replaces it with a permanent and automatic mechanism of relocation.
"We need an asylum policy that better reflects the needs of applicants. Family ties, social and cultural connections and language can all have a big impact on people’s ability to integrate into their new community,” says our MEP Jean Lambert, shadow rapporteur. “That’s why we have pushed for greater consideration to be given to the meaningful links that asylum seekers may have to EU Member States and for them to have a voice on where they are to be received.”
Asylum seekers who can demonstrate genuine links with a Member State (such as previous residence permits or visas or educational diplomas obtained) can now be sent to that Member State. Also, asylum seekers will be given the possibility to make a written request to any Member State, asking that they take charge of their application.
