In public deliberation, the Council held a policy debate on the state of negotiations regarding five legislative acts concerning asylum. The Council welcomed the progress already made and instructed its preparatory bodies to continue the examining the proposals taking account of the European Parliament’s opinion, delivered on 7 May, as well as the views expressed by delegations in the discussion.
The five proposals involve amendments to the so called "Dublin" regulation, the EURODAC regulation, and the reception conditions directive as well as a proposal for the establishment of a European asylum support office and a related amendment of the European refugee fund.
These measures stem from the commitments undertaken in the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum adopted by the European Council in October 2008, with the purpose to complete the Common European Asylum System provided for in the Hague Programme.
Over the last few months, the Council preparatory bodies have carried out intensive discussions on the five proposals. A first reading of the text has been completed in all cases.
On 7 May, the European Parliament adopted legislative resolutions setting out amendments to the Commission proposals under the Council-Parliament codecision procedure. Examination of these amendments is now underway.