Commission moves to strengthen practical cooperation between Member States on asylum management - Main contents

In the Communication on Strengthened Practical Cooperation, adopted today, the Commission presented its vision of how Member States should further cooperate on asylum with a view to the establishment of a fully harmonised EU system. The Communication sets out a work programme for operational cooperation between Member States which should lead to improvements in the efficiency and the quality of the asylum systems of Member States.

Vice President Franco Frattini i, Commissioner responsible for Freedom, Security and Justice said "As we look towards a future Common European Asylum System, it is essential that we develop greater convergence, not only of legislation, but also of practice. It is vital that asylum authorities of the Member States have at their disposal a "common tool box" to answer their daily and operational needs. With such tool box Member States can share information, improve the quality of procedures and jointly find solutions to emergency situations such as mass arrivals of asylum seekers. EU citizens in countries most affected can now see how the notion of solidarity between EU Member States can work in practice".

The Communication comes as a response to the European Council's call for intensified practical cooperation between EU Member States in the field of asylum. The adoption of the Asylum Procedures Directive last December marked the completion of the first stage of the Common European Asylum System. Now the EU will step up cooperation on asylum and by 2010 aims to have a fully harmonised common system.

The Hague Programme - endorsed by the European Council as the EU's workplan for Justice and Home Affairs until 2010 - set three objectives for practical cooperation on asylum:

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  The establishment of a Single Procedure for all applications for international protection;
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  A common approach to Country of Origin Information (the information used to make decisions on asylum claims); and;
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  How the EU should address particular pressures on asylum systems and reception capacities caused for example, by the geographic position of a Member State.

The Communication sets out a programme of activities in each of these areas, aimed at developing a European best practice and improving in general the quality of our asylum decision making through cooperation and solidarity. This will include ensuring that Member States consider all possible reasons for protection in one procedure when examining applications so that delays, repeat applications and abuse of the asylum system are minimised; the development of a common database of information on the countries where asylum seekers come from; and the pooling of resources and expertise to address reception and asylum processing issues for sudden arrivals of large numbers of asylum seekers at the external border of the EU.

The EU intends to establish an Asylum cooperation network between Member States to manage the exchange of information and the development of best practice.