The project of Common European Asylum System (CEAS) aimed to put an end to the lottery, unworthy of States of Law, which people who look for protection in the EU are facing. The AEDH welcomed the fact that, on the one hand, this will to reform showed incontestable goals of progress for the respect of refugees and asylum seekers’ rights and dignity; and that on the other hand, the approach adopted by the Commission tended to stray from a normalisation based on minimalist bases, such as the ones that had been retained for the first asylum package.
Unfortunately, after four years of inter-institutional discussions, we have no choice but to note that Member States obviously do not want this progress under the pretext that it would represent extra costs, administrative burden and, above all, that it would lead to a windfall effect for migrants, causing an increase in “abusive” requests.
The AEDH notes with consternation that the spirit of the texts that are likely to form the basis of the future common European asylum system shows the EU’s incapacity to envisage the future reality of an international context in which conflicts, revolutions and war can only lead to a growing number of people migrating, as shown by the regular HCR publications.
Download the Open Letter here in French, in English, in Spanish and in Italian.
You can also read the analysis of the forthecoming Common European Asylum System (CEAS) here.