4 Asylum
| (25725)
10102/04
COM(04) 410
| Commission Communication on the managed entry in the EU of persons in need of international protection and the enhancement of the protection capacity of the regions of origin — "Improving access to durable solutions"
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 4 June 2004
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| Deposited in Parliament | 8 June 2004
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| Department | Home Office |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 10 June 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | July 2004
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
4.1 In March 2003, the Prime Minister sent the EU Presidency a
paper outlining ideas for a new approach to the asylum process.
The paper analysed the deficiencies of the current protection
regime and presented two new proposals. The first was for the
establishment of regional protection areas in asylum-seekers'
regions of origin. Asylum-seekers would be returned to their home
regions where effective protection could be provided while their
asylum applications were processed, with a view to their resettlement
in their home regions or in Europe. The second proposal was for
transit processing centres in third countries, to which asylum-seekers
arriving in the EU could be transferred to have their claims processed.
4.2 At the request of the European Council, the Commission
presented a Communication reporting on the proposals on 3 June
2003. The Commission shared the UK's views on the deficiencies
of the current protection regime but considered that the UK's
proposals raised legal, financial and practical questions which
would require further consideration. The Commission agreed that
there was a need to explore new approaches to the asylum process.
It listed ten basic premises to underpin any new approaches and
proposed three policy objectives.
4.3 The Commission's Communication was considered
by the Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003. The Council
invited the Commission to:
"explore all parameters in order to ensure more
orderly and managed entry in the EU of persons in need of international
protection and to examine ways and means to enhance the protection
capacity of regions of origin with a view to presenting to the
Council [in] June 2004, a comprehensive report suggesting measures
to be taken, including legal implications."[15]
4.4 When we considered the Commission's Communication
in July 2003, we recommended it for debate in European Standing
Committee B.[16]
4.5 The debate took place on 21 April 2004. The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office (Caroline Flint) told
the Standing Committee that, in the light of the discussions since
the UK had presented its paper over a year before, the Government's
thinking had moved on in several respects. The proposal for transit
processing centres was no longer on the Government's agenda. Moreover,
the Government:
"had moved away from the idea of zones of protection
and [is] now looking to develop migration partnerships with third
countries in the region of origin."[17]
4.6 In the light of the Government's paper of March
2003, the Commission's Communication on it and proposals by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), our sister
Committee in the House of Lords conducted an inquiry, leading
to the publication of a Report on Handling EU asylum claims:
new approaches examined.[18]
The document
4.7 This Communication provides the Commission's
response to the invitation of the Thessaloniki Council quoted
above. It notes that 85% of all refugees are living in countries
in their regions of origin. The majority of applications for asylum
in the EU do not meet the criteria for international protection.
For example, in 2002, only 17% of applications for asylum in the
EU were granted (52,128 out of 308,787 applications). The Commission
considers that reform of the international protection system is
needed to make it more accessible, better managed and more equitable.
4.8 The Commission also notes that there are three
options for "durable solutions" to the needs of people
who seek asylum: voluntary return to their countries of origin;
integration into third countries in the region of origin; or resettlement
elsewhere, such as the territories of the Member States. The Commission
sees a role for the EU in all three options. The Community can
contribute to voluntary returns by action to help remedy the conditions
which cause people to seek refuge from their countries of origin.
It can make agreements with third countries in the regions from
which refugees originate to help them cope with the demands made
on them by people seeking protection. And there could be an EU-wide
Resettlement Scheme. The Commission draws attention to the calls
by the UNHCR for such agreements with third countries and for
commitments to the resettlement of refugees.
4.9 The Commission proposes the development of EU
Regional Protection Programmes. The Programmes would be specific
to particular regions and tailored to their circumstances. They
would require negotiation with and the agreement of the third
countries in the region concerned. They would be drawn up in conjunction
with the Commission's Regional and Country Strategy Papers.
4.10 Regional Protection Programmes offer a way to
assist countries in the regions of origin to become genuine countries
of first asylum rather than merely countries of transit. Certain
standards have to be achieved, however, before, a country can
be said to provide effective asylum. The Commission notes that
there is a long way to go before most of the current host countries
in regions of origin fully meet those standards. It suggests a
list of indicators for use in assessing a country's protection
capacity.
4.11 Each EU Regional Protection Programme would
select from a "tool box" of measures, such as:
- action to strengthen protection
capacity (for example, improving the capacity to process, receive,
protect and integrate asylum-seekers in the host countries in
the regions of origin);
- implementation of an effective Registration Scheme
for people seeking protection;
- assistance to improve the local infrastructure
(ensuring that the refugee communities do not put too much strain
on, for example, local energy, water and sewerage systems and
that providing protection offers benefits to, rather than problems
for, the host communities);
- assistance with integration into the host community;
- access to an EU-wide Resettlement Scheme.
Which measures were included in any particular Programme
would be affected by the particular circumstances, needs and wishes
of the countries in the region.
4.12 The Commission says that:
"UNHCR should play a central role in both the
development and implementation of EU Regional Protection Programmes.
As sponsors of the Convention Plus initiative[19]
they are ideally placed to lend them a genuine protection focus.
Their experience and authority in the field would enable them
to deliver on key aspects of this comprehensive strategy."[20]
4.13 The Commission envisages drawing up a pilot
Regional Protection Programme by July 2005 and a fully-fledged
EU Regional Protection Programme by December 2005.
4.14 Resettlement in the EU might be one element
of a Regional Protection Programme. In the Commission's view,
voluntary returns and local integration are likely to offer durable
solutions for more people than resettlement. Nonetheless, the
Commission considers that resettlement could play an important,
if limited, part in the EU's asylum policy. In particular, the
Commission suggests that resettlement schemes can pave the way
for security and health enquiries about applicants to be dealt
with in the third countries in which they have taken refuge, can
facilitate "burden sharing" between Member States and
host countries and can give Member States time to plan for such
things as the provision of housing and education for the people
they have accepted for resettlement.
4.15 Accordingly, the Commission proposes the eventual
setting up of an EU-wide Resettlement Scheme. The Scheme
would be complementary to and without prejudice to Member States'
obligations to determine asylum applications made to them. The
EU Scheme would reflect the ability of Member States to resettle
people in any given year. Member States which currently operate
resettlement schemes would be encouraged to reserve a set number
of places for use by the EU Scheme or to continue to run their
own schemes. Member States currently without schemes would be
encouraged to take part in the EU Scheme. The Commission is likely
to propose targets for the number to be resettled, rather than
quotas or ceilings. The targets would not be binding on Member
States.
4.16 The selection of candidates for resettlement
could be made on specified criteria. The EU Scheme could take
responsibility for vulnerable groups or for people who might have
special difficulties in becoming integrated in third countries
(such as members of particular ethnic groups or religions). The
Commission notes that there could be legal difficulties in defining
and applying selection criteria. It would also be necessary to
devise ways to deal with people who were not satisfied with selection
decisions or the process by which they were made.
4.17 The Commission seeks approval of:
- EU Regional Protection Programmes
as a key policy tool to address protracted refugee situations;
- the proposed indicators of protection capacity;
- an EU Resettlement Scheme along the lines described
in the Communication.
The Government's view
4.18 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
the Home Office (Caroline Flint) tells us that the Government
welcomes the document and supports the broad purpose of the Commission's
proposals. She says that:
"The Government is currently seeking to develop
migration partnerships with certain countries in the regions of
origin of major asylum-generating countries where we would seek
to help them better process their refugee caseloads. These arrangements
are to be modern partnerships, based on equality, where the two
parties recognise that their migration issues are of common concern
and need to be tackled together. They are based on the belief
that issues such as secondary movement can be effectively addressed
in the region of origin.
"The Commission's outline proposals for EU Regional
Protection Programmes appear to be consistent with our Migration
Partnerships approach, envisaging as they do a 'tool box' approach
containing various elements that might be deployed depending on
the specific regional or country requirements. The proposals also
envisage close cooperation with the UNHCR, seeking in particular
to dovetail with their Convention Plus initiative, and the Government
welcomes this approach.
"The UK is one of six resettlement countries
in the EU and the Government therefore welcomes in principle the
Commission's proposal for an EU Resettlement Scheme. However further
details on aspects of its operation will be required, in particular
clarity on the selection criteria to be used. We shall also need
to be assured that any scheme would operate flexibly in relation
to individual states' own schemes and add value."
4.19 The Minister adds that the Government is providing
support for a study on effective protection being conducted by
the Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration
Policies in Europe, North America and Australia (IGC). The Government
will review the Commission's proposed indicators of protection
capacity in the light of the results of the IGC study.
Conclusion
4.20 We consider this Communication to be a constructive
contribution to the development of the Community's thinking on
asylum policy. The Commission recognises that there are no quick
or easy solutions. But new approaches to asylum are needed.
4.21 As the Minister says, a lot more information
is required about how the proposals might work in practice. For
example, we consider that more information is needed about the
financing of the proposed EU Regional Protection Programmes; about
how targets for resettlement might be set; about how fair and
acceptable criteria and processes for selection might be devised
and operated; and so on. Moreover, discussion of the proposals
by the Council has not yet begun. It is likely that we shall wish
to recommend the Communication for debate, but it would be premature
to do so yet.
4.22 We should be grateful, therefore, if the
Minister would keep us informed of the discussions about the proposals
and the development of the Government's views on them. Meanwhile,
we shall keep the document under scrutiny.
15 Conclusion 26, Thessaloniki European Council, 19/20
June 2003. Back
16
(24602) 10243/03; HC 63-xxx (2002-03), para 1 (16 July 2003). Back
17
Stg Co Deb, European Standing Committee B, 21 April 2004, col.
4. Back
18
11th Report of the European Union Committee, House of Lords, 2003-04,
HL Paper 74, 30 April 2004. Back
19
An initiative that builds on the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Back
20
Commission Communication, para 54. Back
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