Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-15-Speech-2-450-000"
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"en.20110215.26.2-450-000"2
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"Mr President, I think that it is always useful to remind ourselves of a number of commitments, and particularly the one made in October 2008, via the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, which announced that it was time to take new initiatives to complete the introduction of a common European asylum system, and thus to offer a higher level of protection within the European Union.
Today, many of the warning lights are red; they are telling us that it is time to reform this regulation and to construct a true common asylum system founded on solidarity and responsibility.
More than two years after this promise, the Commission’s proposals are on the negotiating table. One cannot help but notice, however, that this European asylum system and the harmonisation process are struggling somewhat to see the light of day.
The recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights is an important turning point, in my opinion. Obviously, it highlights the failures of the Greek asylum system, but it also sends a strong message at a time when Greece is starting to reform its asylum system and, at the same time, to take other types of initiatives.
Aside from this particular situation, however, this decision more generally calls into question the European asylum system as a whole, particularly regarding one of its fundamental components – the Dublin regulation – and its main premise, the equivalence of national asylum systems within the Union. This decision shows how, paradoxically, the common European asylum system has created a kind of injustice, both for asylum seekers and for the Member States.
Following this decision, clear measures are now needed immediately. Pending an operational asylum system in Greece, the Member States must suspend returning asylum seekers to Greece and use the sovereignty clause of this regulation which allows them to take responsibility for examining an application.
The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decision also sends a signal to all parties concerned. I think that this decision should serve as a catalyst in the process of harmonisation and redrafting, in particular, when it comes to the Dublin regulation.
First of all, this is, of course, about the mechanism for suspending transfers that I have just mentioned, which is being proposed by the Commission. The ECHR’s decision sheds new light on this mechanism, on the one hand, and on intra-European solidarity, on the other. The suspension should restart discussions on the need for a suspension mechanism, as I mentioned, under conditions which are clearly specified.
Secondly, aside from this mechanism, the suspension must also serve as a lever – or at least, I hope it will – to provide support, during the negotiations, for the other amendments to the regulation that are being proposed by the Commission, as well as those on the guarantees given in this instrument, among others.
Finally, the suspension by the ECHR should allow us to start thinking about the inherent vulnerability of the situation that asylum seekers find themselves in. It should also make it necessary to bring in an appeal mechanism to suspend transfer of asylum seekers who are subject to a transfer decision resulting from the application of the Dublin regulation."@en1
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