The expansion of the European Union to the east and south has increased the need to regulate immigration rules into this community of states. But the EU is still far from the day when common rules for dealing with those who claim refugee status will come into force in all its countries. Asylum procedures vary from country to country.
The European Union needs a common asylum system that can, on the one hand, distribute the burden fairly among all EU countries, and, on the other hand, ensure dignified treatment of asylum seekers. The EU has set itself the goal of developing and implementing a common set of asylum rules by 2010. Asylum seekers granted refugee status will then be able to move throughout the European Union. EU members seek to share the burden among themselves, meaning that countries with large numbers of refugees would like to be able to send some refugees to countries where they are few.
The path to a common system is long, and states must show willingness for practical cooperation, noted EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini in a recent report on the topic. The first important step on this path is the creation of an information system on the countries of origin of refugees. After that, it will be possible to develop common criteria for granting asylum. For example: political persecution in country N is regarded in all EU countries as a criterion for granting refugee status.
Rules on minimum standards for examining asylum applications and for the accommodation of applicants have already entered into force. Mediterranean countries, which receive large numbers of Africans, are demanding a fairer distribution of refugees across all EU countries. Some countries very quickly reject applications as clearly unfounded, for which they are criticized by human rights organizations, in particular the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.
In 2002 (no new statistics yet), 380,000 asylum applications were filed in Europe. The percentage of those granted refugee status varies from country to country - from 2% in Austria to 25% in Denmark. Most asylum seekers came to Europe from Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey. Applications were most often filed in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
The number of refugees arriving in Germany, however, is gradually decreasing, since Germany has recently been surrounded by so-called safe third countries. If an asylum seeker has set foot on the territory of such a country on their way to Germany, they may be sent back to that country without their case being examined. A common list of safe third countries outside Europe has not yet been drawn up.
Bernd Riegert.
Deutsche Welle