The Council was informed of the state of
negotiations on the various legislative proposals outstanding
in relation to the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), on the
basis of a Cypriot Presidency paper.
The situation on the four outstanding files can be
described as follows:
- negotiations between the Council and the European
Parliament on the Dublin Regulation have been
finalised and the Council adopted this political agreement
without discussion. The new rules will introduce a mechanism
for early warning, preparedness and crisis management aimed at
evaluating the practical functioning of national asylum systems,
assisting Member States in need and preventing asylum crises. As a
complement, the Council adopted conclusions (7485/12) in March 2012
on a common framework for genuine and practical solidarity towards
Member States facing particular pressures on their asylum systems,
including through mixed migration flows. These conclusions are
intended to constitute a toolbox for EU-wide solidarity towards
those Member States most affected by such pressures and/or
encountering problems in their asylum systems;
- at its meeting on 25 and 26 October 2012 the Council
confirmed the political agreement reached on the Reception Conditions
Directive which fully reflects the result of negotiations with the
European Parliament. Once the Directive is formally adopted, Member
States will need to transpose the new provisions into national law
within two years;
- in June 2012, the Commission tabled its new proposal
for a revised Eurodac Regulation which
allows law enforcement authorities to access this central EU-wide
fingerprint database for the purposes of fighting terrorism and
organised crime, subject to strict conditions on data protection.
In October 2012, the Council adopted its position with a view to
negotiations with the European Parliament; trilogues are expected
to start in the next few days, as soon as the Parliament has
adopted its position on this legislative text;
- on the Asylum Procedures Directive, further
progress has been made in negotiations with the European Parliament
with a view to reaching agreement before the end of 2012.
These negotiations are based on a revised proposal for a Directive
which was tabled by the Commission on 1 June 2011. On 27 November
2012, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) adopted a
revised compromise package. The negotiations between the
Council and the European Parliament on the Asylum Procedures
Directive are in their end phase. The positions of the Council and
the Parliament have converged on many issues and agreement is
sought before the end of 2012 on the basis of a global
compromise package.
Four other agreements and decisions relating to the
CEAS have already been adopted. They concern:
1. the Qualification Directive
providing for better, clearer and more harmonised standards for
identifying persons in need of international protection which was
adopted in November 2011;
2. the Long term Residence Directive
adopted in April 2011;
3. the Regulation establishing the European Asylum Support
Office (EASO) which started operations in the
spring of 2011;
4. the Decision taken in March 2012 establishing common EU resettlement priorities for
2013 and new rules on EU funding for resettlement
activities carried out by Member States.