The Council of the European Union adopted a historic reform of the European system of asylum and migration management. Itʼs about 10 legislative acts that unify all procedures and regulate the distribution between all EU members.
This is stated in the message of the Council of the EU.
Belgian State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor emphasized that the new rules will make the European asylum system more efficient and strengthen solidarity between member states.
"The European Union will also continue close cooperation with third countries to eliminate the root causes of illegal migration. Only together can we find answers to the global migration challenge," she explained.
The vetting regulation will allow national authorities to refer irregular migrants and asylum seekers at the external border to an appropriate procedure, and will ensure that identification, security and vulnerability checks and health assessments are carried out in a uniform manner.
It also provides for the creation of a single centralized check system at the EUʼs external border and the Eurodac database, which will allow member states to check whether an asylum seeker has submitted the same application in another country. This will help shape policy and strengthen controls on illegal migration and unauthorized movements.
The Regulation on the return border procedure deals with the return of people whose applications have been rejected under this border procedure.
The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation determines which Member State is responsible for examining applications for international protection and for the first time introduces a fair division of responsibility between Member States.
That is, countries that are overloaded with a large number of arriving migrants will be able to transfer the process of granting asylum to another EU member state, and countries located further into the European continent will have a choice — to accept a certain number of migrants or to pay funds to the common fund of the European Union.
Thanks to the crisis regulation, the EU will be better prepared to consider asylum applications in exceptional circumstances.
The qualification regulation and the directive on reception conditions establish uniform rules for granting international protection and standards for the reception of asylum seekers. It should also contribute to the reduction of secondary movements between EU members.
The resettlement regulation concerns legal and safe routes to the EU and establishes general rules for resettlement and humanitarian reception.
EU member states will have two years to implement the adopted laws. The European Commission will soon present a joint implementation plan to help Member States in this process.