CEAS Reform I

Key points

• The EESC considers it essential to carry out an efficient and effective reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and improve the legal means of accessing the European Union based on the principle of respecting persecuted people's human rights.
• The EESC approves of the proposed objective to improve and speed up the determination procedures in the interest of better efficiency, but believes that protective provisions should be clarified and included on procedural issues, individual treatment of applications, maintenance of discretionary clauses, maintenance of the deadline for the cessation of obligation for a Member State to assume responsibility, the rights of applicants and the limitation of the corrective relocation mechanism.
• Care must be taken to ensure that the provisions proposed in the regulation are consistent with existing provisions in this area and related measures that the EC intends to roll out as part of the fundamental transformation of the CEAS, and that they are consistent with other EU policies.
• All Member States should be responsible for providing applicants with detailed and up-to-date information regarding the procedures under the Dublin system.
• The principle of proportionality should be assured so that the system is sustainable in practice, with regard to applicants' quick access to the asylum procedure and the capacity of Member States' administrations to apply the system.
• Concerning the Eurodac System, any consideration with regard to adapting the regulation should justify the necessity and proportionality of the measures adopted given the sensitivity of the data involved, particularly with regard to applicants for international protection and the confidentiality of the procedure.
• The EESC supports the proposals regarding the EU Asylum Agency given that, since EASO was set up, the goals set have not been fulfilled. We believe that the role of the existing Consultative Forum for organisations, whose capacity has been severely weakened in practice, should be strengthened and developed in the new proposal. The future EASO should take into account the information from the organisations in question in order to monitor the correct application and implementation of the CEAS.