Immigration: status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents. Extension to beneficiaries of international protection

Ministers continued work on the establishment of a Common European Asylum System (CEAS) on the basis of a discussion paper which presents the state of play in relation to the discussions regarding a package of six legislative proposals which EU Member States have committed to adopt by 2012.

It relates to the following proposals:

• this proposal for the extension of the Long-Term Residents Directive to beneficiaries of international protection;
• the recast of the ‘Qualification’ Directive;
• the recast of the EURODAC Regulation;
• the recast of the ‘Dublin’ Regulation;
• the establishment of a European Asylum Support Office (EASO);
• the amendment of Decision No 573/2007/ECestablishing the European Refugee Fund for the period 2008 to 2013 by removing funding for certain Community actions and altering the limit for funding such actions (already adopted).

As regards the extension of the scope of the Long-Term Residents Directive, the discussion paper indicates that, since June 2010, the compromise already reached in the Council on this proposal – dating from 2008 and on the basis of which the required unanimity required at the time could be almost achieved – was confirmed.

In his draft report, which was presented on 28 September in the LIBE Committee, the European Parliament’s rapporteur accepted to a large extent the Council compromise. On the basis of discussions with Member States in the JHA-Counsellors group, and of constructive contacts with the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs (a first informal trilogue took place on 12 October), most of the outstanding issues were resolved at a technical level. On the remaining issues where Council and Parliament still disagree, a – possibly final – trilogue was to take place on 9 November.