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Kevin Schembri Orland Saturday, 11 March 2017, 08:00 Last update: about 20 hours ago

The European Parliament is about to take the next step in the road to changing the Dublin system, which regulates EU asylum policies and has been a hot potato in the EU since the very start of the migration crisis, with many frontline states calling for alterations to the mechanism.

On 9 March, EU Parliament MEP and Swedish liberal Cecilia Wikstrm, will present her draft report on the EU Asylum Rules to the Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee within the EU Parliament, which will then be discussed and voted on before moving to the next stage.

The draft report is a first response to the Commission's proposal, presented in May 2016, for reform of the Dublin regulation, and consists of proposed amendments to it. This regulation, which determines which member state is responsible for processing an asylum application, is currently undergoing a number of changes. In the report, Ms Wikstrm proposes ways to remedy the issues currently existing within EU asylum rules.

Back in May 2016, the EU Commission had presented proposals to reform the Common European Asylum System, by creating a fairer, more efficient and more sustainable system for allocating asylum applications among Member States. The basic principle will remain the same asylum seekers should, unless they have family elsewhere, apply for asylum in the first country they enter but a new fairness mechanism will ensure no Member State is left with a disproportionate pressure on its asylum system. The proposals also include transforming the existing European Asylum Support Office (EASO) into a fully-fledged European Union Agency for Asylum to reflect its enhanced role in the new system and reinforcing of the EU's fingerprinting database, Eurodac, in order to better manage the asylum system and to help tackle irregular migration.

MEP Wikstrms report focuses on her suggestions for alterations made to the European Commissions proposals, and will be the basis for discussion within the LIBE committee, and will also play a part in the EU Parliaments overall discussions on the amendment proposals.

The MEPs key proposals include that EU countries where the refugees arrive must register all asylum seekers, while guarding and maintaining their borders to prevent unregistered asylum seekers from passing through the EU. It also states however, that the Commission proposal requires that a member state take on 150 percent of their fair share of asylum applications before receiving assistance from the corrective allocation system (this percentage is based on a key, reflecting total population and GDP on the concerned country). I suggest that this threshold should be lowered to 100 percent. I also suggest that corrective allocation should stop once the relative share of a member state under corrective allocation has dropped to 75 percent of total allocations, in order to ensure that member states do not fluctuate in and out of corrective allocation.

In addition, the MEP, through the report, also argues that if a member state does not guard its borders, and allows unregistered asylum seekers continue on to other EU countries, then the Council should have the ability to suspend transfers from that particular state.

One clause which the Rapporteur recommends removing from the existing text, was the Commissions proposal to impose a requirement to establish whether an asylum application is admissible before determining the responsible member state for processing. MEP Wikstrm argues that this would create too much administrative burden on the EUs frontline states, and says that relocation should be a quick and that admissibility should be checked by the country that is responsible for processing the asylum application.

Another aspect of the draft report deals with family reunification. Member states should ensure, in particular when benefiting from corrective allocation, that procedures are efficient and allow applicants for international protection to be promptly relocated to other Member States. With a view to avoiding costly and time-consuming secondary transfers and in order to provide an efficient access to family unity for applicants under the corrective allocation mechanism whilst not unduly overburdening frontline member states, a light family reunification procedure should be envisaged which would allow for the transfer of applicants that are likely to meet the relevant criteria to allow them to be reunited with family members in a particular Member State.

The MEP also highlights children and unaccompanied minors, and proposes that guardians in receiving member states be appointed before unaccompanied minors are transferred. In addition, other proposed amendments include that interviews with minors shall be conducted in a child-friendly manner in the presence of the guardian and, where applicable, a legal advisor or counsellor.

The document reads When it comes to unaccompanied minors, the quick appointment of guardians (within five days), improved best interest assessments, as well as the use of multidisciplinary teams for assessments, will allow authorities to build trust with the minors, as well as break the negative influence of smugglers and traffickers. This will greatly improve the chances that minors will trust and work within the system. We cannot go on with a system that causes thousands of children to go missing, as is unfortunately the case today. Together with greatly improved family reunification procedures and the procedure to request, the application of the discretionary clause minors will get a quicker access to the procedures and a stable environment.

In her report, the MEP referred to the Commissions suggestion to introduce an opt-out from the corrective allocation system, which would have allowed member states to buy themselves out of the corrective allocation by paying 250000 per applicant. I find it unacceptable to put such a price tag on human beings, and I therefore suggest deleting the provision. In the report, she states: I have suggested introducing a conditionality between the proper participation in the corrective allocation mechanism, and the European Structural and Investment Funds. It would not seem logical to allow member states to benefit from the solidarity of others whilst ignoring their own commitments under our commonly agreed rules.

The MEP also suggests that a five-year transition period be allowed, thereby giving time for countries to adapt to the new procedures.

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The road to changing European Union asylum policies - Malta Independent Online

Being a citizen of the EU brings tangible benefits. It allows Britons to move easily to mainland Europe and between European countries. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Despite Brexit, and the often tone-deaf nature of the current governments diplomacy, it is heartening that senior European politicians remain committed to British people having a close relationship with Europe in the future. That is why Guy Verhofstadts comments, supporting the rights of British citizens to retain some of the advantages of our European Union membership, are welcome. The government should respond positively, demonstrate its commitment to negotiating in good faith and with goodwill and see how important it is that both parliamentarians and the public should be fully involved in the Brexit process.

Being a citizen of the EU brings tangible benefits. It allows Britons to move easily to mainland Europe and between European countries, be it for work, study or pleasure. More than a million of our fellow citizens have done so, from those who have retired in Spain to tech entrepreneurs in Berlin. Services such as the European health insurance card guarantee free medical treatment for Britons who fall ill in another European country. The open skies policy and the near-abolition of roaming charges have made the European continent a smaller place. And of course the EUs economic foundations the single market, customs union, funding for universities and poorer regions have made us all better off, creating millions of jobs in Britain through free trade with the worlds largest market.

Young people want a good job, a living wage and somewhere to call home, so revolt against anything that makes these goals less attainable

Young people I meet feel particularly strongly about this. First, because they are such an international generation better travelled, better engaged and more open in outlook than their parents or grandparents. Second, because the economic insecurity that has bedevilled young people in recent years makes the material opportunities created by the EU ever more important. Young people want a good job, a living wage and somewhere to call home so they revolt against anything that makes these goals less attainable such as a hard Brexit that would damage our trade and so make them worse off.

The governments mindset as it enters negotiations should be attuned to preserving as many of our links with the EU as possible, keeping Britain an open and tolerant country. Whatever happens over the next two years, the UK will still be part of Europe. It will still be our biggest trading partner, one of our most important allies, and the home to many British citizens. We need a good deal that retains, as David Davis has said, the exact same benefits on trade that we currently possess.

This means a diplomatic strategy based on goodwill not schoolboy jokes about punishment beatings, or posturing about leaving with no deal at all is required. The government should welcome the olive branch offered by Verhofstadt.

Ministers must be creative in finding ways for British citizens to continue to enjoy the benefits of EU membership, and our trade and security links to the EU must be maintained. An early and positive step would be to immediately guarantee the right to remain of EU citizens living in the United Kingdom. They are human beings, not cards, as Liam Fox called them. Such a gesture would create goodwill among the EU27, and doubtless lead to a positive outcome for Britons living in the EU.

The House of Lords amendment on EU citizens returns to the Commons on Monday, along with an amendment that would give MPs a meaningful vote on the final deal, with the power to send Theresa May back to the table if it does not measure up to expectations.

Open Britain, the campaign I chair, is mobilising hundreds of volunteers around the country this weekend, calling on people to write to their MPs to support both these amendments. Ultimately, Verhofstadts words reminded us of the power of the European parliament in this process. We must fight against an outcome where the British parliament has less power than Brussels and Strasbourg over its own governments negotiating strategy.

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We've been offered an olive branch on EU citizenship. Don't let them swat it aside - The Guardian

European East-West Divide Widens Ahead of Brexit Wall Street Journal (subscription) BRUSSELSThe divide between the European Union's more affluent western nations and its less well-off members to the east deepened on Friday, as their leaders wrangled over the future of the bloc after the U.K. exits. The last day of the summit of EU ...

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European East-West Divide Widens Ahead of Brexit - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Guy Verhofstadt said a system will be devised to give the chance for pro-European Brits to keep the blocs benefits, such as freedom of travel and the ability to vote in European elections.

Talking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Verhofstadt claimed he had received more than 1,000 letters from worried UK citizens who didnt want to lose their relationship with the European civilisation.

All British citizens today have also EU citizenship. That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the Union, he said.

We need to have an arrangement in which this arrangement can continue for those citizens who on an individual basis are requesting it.

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We need an arrangement for those citizens who on an individual basis want to Remain EU citizens

Guy Verhofstadt

The senior Brussels figures will now need to convince his European colleagues to agree on such an arrangement when negotiations begin.

However, Mr Verhofstadt warned the European Parliament has the powers to veto any Brexit deal brokered between the UK and European Commission.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March, which paves the way for formal divorce negotiations to begin.

Speaking at her last EU summit before she is due to activate the departure process, Mrs May said Britain was on the brink of a defining moment and ready to forge a new role in the world.

She also signalled her determination to resist any attempts by Brussels to hit the UK with a divorce bill of up to 52billion as a a punishment for voting to leave.

Mr Verhofstadt said there will always be an enormous gap between Britain and the EUs wishes, however it will be possible to reach a compromise once Article 50 is triggered.

The European Parliament chief refused to offer a settlement figure, but claimed there are objective facts which will help all parties reach a final sum.

Mrs May is due to make a statement to the Commons on Friday about Thursdays summit, raising expectations that she could use the occasion to activate the EUs exit clause.

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Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, speaks in the House of Lords Chamber at the start of the third day of The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

The Prime Minister spoke of her desire to step up the pace of the divorce process at a new conference in Brussels.

Our European partners have made clear to me they want to get on with the negotiation and so do I, she said.

Its time to get on with leaving the European Union and building the independent, self-governing, global Britain the British people have called for. And so, I have said, we will trigger Article 50 by the end of this month.

This will be a defining moment for the UK as we begin the process of forging a new role for ourselves in the world as a strong country with control over our borders and laws.

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'We need an arrangement' Verhofstadt offers Britons chance to REMAIN in the European Union - Express.co.uk

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

European Union Reappoints Donald Tusk Over Polish Objection Wall Street Journal (subscription) BRUSSELSEuropean Union leaders easily re-elected Donald Tusk to a top leadership post, outvoting Poland's nationalist government, which accused him of interfering in politics at home. Mr. Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who as the head of the ... EU snubs Poland by keeping Tusk in top postReuters European Union leaders confirm Donald Tusk for another term as Council PresidentWashington Post Tusk wins second term as EU chief despite Polish furyAljazeera.com Bloomberg all 401 news articles »

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European Union Reappoints Donald Tusk Over Polish Objection - Wall Street Journal (subscription)