Speech: Remarks by Commissioner Avramopoulos at the Readout of the College Meeting of 13 July

Dear all, good afternoon.

A few months ago, in April, I stood in this press room and I told you we would be proceeding with a complete overhaul of the Common European Asylum system.  

I told you that we would revise the Dublin system and that proposal, together with Eurodac and our proposal for a genuine European Asylum Agency, are now on the table.

And today we come with the missing pieces to complete that overhaul: revising the three remaining pieces of legislation making up Europe's Asylum system. 

Since this Commission took office, we made tackling the refugee crisis a priority and we have come a long way in more than 12 months.

Remember where we were 1 year ago, and where we are now. But we also have to look to the future. The reforms we are presenting today are about making sure we have the tools to better manage migration, in all its aspects, in the medium and long term.

Europe has to have a sustainable asylum system that can always work in time of migratory pressures.

Let me remind you that Europe already has the highest asylum standards in the world, and we have to uphold those and our commitment to protect those seeking protection.

But right now these are minimum standards - meaning that Member States can decide how they implement them, thereby creating many discrepancies.

This creates not only unequal treatment of asylum seekers, but also incentives for them to irregularly move to another Member State to try and shop around - what we call "secondary movements" .

For those worried that we are following a race to the bottom - no: it is quite the opposite. We want to reform our policy, not just set minimum standards, but firm and fair standards, replacing the current scattered approach.

That is why we are turning the Asylum Procedures and Qualifications Directives into Regulations.

This means that we set a fixed European standard for all asylum procedures in the EU i, and for how applicants can qualify for protection. We also substantially reform the Reception Conditions Directive, to further streamline and harmonise the conditions everywhere in Europe.

First, the reforms simplify, clarify and shorten the asylum procedures, creating a fairer and more efficient EU procedure for dealing with Asylum claims - one that is generous to the most vulnerable but strict to those who try to abuse it.

Secondly, the reforms will allow for both the quick identification of persons in genuine need of international protection, offering them protection for as long as they need it, and for the ability to return those who do not have the right to receive protection in the EU.

Thirdly, our reforms will make sure that, wherever they arrive, asylum seekers can benefit from the same dignified reception standards:

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  through housing;
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  quick labour market integration;
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  schooling for children;
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  and healthcare.

Together, all these reforms will make Europe's migration policy more sustainable in the long run. We want to have clear, transparent and waterproof rules - for both Member States, and for asylum seekers. 

This is about building a migration and asylum policy which works for everyone: protecting the interests of Europe's 500 million citizens and being more humane towards asylum seekers, like the 1.2 million people who asked for asylum in the EU last year.

At the same time, today the Commission is also continuing the EU's commitment to replacing dangerous, irregular migration, by finding safe and legal pathways to Europe for people in genuine need of protection.

Important achievements have already been made on resettlement - as you will see in the 5th relocation and resettlement report we also published today. We want to step this up in a more structured way. 

What we propose today is an EU Resettlement Framework to pool national resettlement efforts on a yearly basis, in a collective way.

I have said this before: migration and mobility will be with us for a long time. It is not a question of how or if we can stop this, but rather how to turn it into an opportunity and advantage - for everyone. 

That is also the reason why today you will see that we present our update on visa reciprocity with certain third countries, and notably Canada and the United States.

Because ensuring mobility and full visa waiver reciprocity with our strategic international partners, remains our goal.

In the past three months, we have intensified contacts with the US and Canada to push for full visa waiver reciprocity.

On Monday, I hosted talks with Ministers from Canada, Bulgaria and Romania. What these talks confirmed is a clear perspective of progress in coming months.

Canada is engaged in this political process, and the two affected Member States are committed to address concerns Canada may have. Canada committed to come back to us in early autumn with their assessment of Bulgaria and Romania, and timelines for visa lifting.

With the U.S., we are aware of the electoral time table and have to take this into account when we consider the most appropriate way forward to pursue our dialogue. 

The decision the Commission took today was to continue these contacts and to intensify them.

The outlook today is already much more positive than April.

In the coming months, we will make it our priority to make progress through continued dialogue with those two strategic partners.  

We have important rendezvous points with the US and Canada, including the EU-Canada summit in October, and the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs ministerial at the end of the year.

With good will and in good faith, we can resolve this problem soon.

Let me conclude on this: as we now officially enter summer, we approach it with more tools, experience and political will than last year.

However, now is not the time to become complacent, but to stick through and deliver on these comprehensive reforms.

Thank you.

SPEECH/16/2527

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