Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 72

AddedSHORT JUSTIFICATION

AddedThe proposed reform of the Common European Asylum System aims at shaping a more sustainable, fairer and holistic EU migration policy, based on the principles of fair sharing of responsibility and solidarity among Member States.

AddedNotwithstanding the legislative and political effort carried out in the past years at the European and Member States’ level, in order to respond effectively to the refugee crisis, several aspects related to the well-functioning of the asylum system still remain to be addressed. In particular, differences persist on rules and criteria for granting refugee status and subsidiary protection; on recognition rates among Member States as well as on the set of rights and obligations granted to beneficiaries. The Commission proposes to repeal the previous Recast Qualification Directive with a Regulation, therefore increasing the harmonisation potential of new common European instruments. The rapporteur believes it essential for reforms in this field to achieve the overarching goal of improving the current situation, which should be intended as a step forward in the effective rights provided to people who are in need of protection, and not just as the merely functional administrative re-organisation or rationalisation of rules, practices and procedures.

AddedWith a view to this, the possibility for social inclusion and labour market integration of beneficiaries of international protection into society is key.

AddedIn his draft opinion, therefore, the rapporteur puts forward amendments with the aim of ensuring that EU legislation allows exploiting the maximum potential of such integration prospects. In first instance, this means aligning the rights granted to refugees, on the one hand, and to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, on the other, as it is already the case in some Member States, being such distinction often based on the disputable assumption of a more temporary nature of the protection needed. This creates in practice not only an unnecessary administrative complexity, but risks directly jeopardising their integration chances, for example due to a too short duration of their residence or work permits - being the two often intrinsically connected - or by linking the renewal of such residence permit to a protection status review, which also appears costly and unnecessary. For similar reasons, the rapporteur proposes a deletion from the text of the possibility for Member States to limit social assistance of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection to core benefits.

AddedCommission allows for Member States to make participation in integration measures such as language courses, vocational training and other employment-related measures compulsory for beneficiaries of protection, in order facilitate their integration into society. While this can be accepted as a valuable tool for turning the short-term challenges of integration into an opportunity for society as a whole, at the same time it needs to be specified that such measures must be free of charge, available, easily accessible and always take into account the rights and values of the beneficiary of protection. It is also necessary to ensure that non or partial participation to such measures never puts at risk the protection status of the person, as this will directly constitute a violation of international refugee law.

AddedFinally, the rapporteur disagrees with the punitive approach chosen by the Commission to regulate secondary movements, while considering on the other hand a system of possible incentives to remain in the State that granted protection more appropriate.

AddedAMENDMENTS

AddedThe Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,as the committee responsible, to take into account the following amendments:

AddedRecital 1: (1) A number of substantive changes are to be made to Council Directive 2011/95/EU of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted31 (recast). To ensure harmonisation and more convergence in asylum decisions and as regards the content of international protection in order to encourage beneficiaries of international protection to remain in the Member State that granted them such protection and ensure an equality of treatment of beneficiaries of international protection that Directive should be repealed and replaced by a Regulation.

AddedRecital 3: (3) The CEAS is based on common standards for asylum procedures, recognition and protection offered at Union level, reception conditions and a system for determining the Member State responsible for asylum seekers. Notwithstanding progress achieved so far in the progressive development of the CEAS, there are still significant disparities between the Member States in the types of procedures used, the recognition rates, the type of protection granted, the level of material reception conditions and benefits given to applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection. These divergences, together with very different macroeconomic and labour market situations across the Member States, undermine the objective of standardised reception conditions for all applicants wherever they apply in the Union.

AddedRecital 5: (5) For a well-functioning CEAS, including of the Dublin system, substantial progress should be made regarding the convergence of national asylum systems, particularly with regard to differing recognition rates and type of protection status in the Member States. In addition, rules on status review should be strengthened to ensure that protection is only granted to those who need it and for so long as it continues to be needed. Moreover, divergent practices regarding the duration of the residence permits should be avoided, and the rights granted to beneficiaries of international protection should be further clarified and harmonised.

AddedRecital 6: (6) A Regulation is therefore necessary to ensure a faster and more consistent level of harmonisation throughout the Union and to provide a higher degree of legal certainty and transparency.

AddedRecital 8: (8) The further approximation of rules on the recognition and content of refugee and subsidiary protection status should moreover help to limit the secondary movement of applicants for international protection and beneficiaries of international protection between Member States, and to achieve high protection standards throughout the Union.

AddedRecital 10: (10) Successful resettlement candidates should be granted international protection. Accordingly, the provisions of this Regulation on the content of international protection should apply.

AddedRecital 11: (11) This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter), the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 1961 European Social Charter, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol thereto. In particular this Regulation seeks to ensure full respect for human dignity and the right to asylum of applicants for asylum and their accompanying family members and to promote the application of the Charter's Articles relating to human dignity, respect for private and family life, freedom of expression and information, right to education, freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work, freedom to conduct a business, right to asylum, non-discrimination, rights of the child, the enjoyment of social rights including social security and social assistance, health care, and should therefore be implemented accordingly.

AddedRecital 13: (13) The resources of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund should be used to provide adequate support to Member States' efforts in implementing the standards set by this Regulation, in particular in relation to promoting sustainable integration of beneficiaries of international protection and to providing support to those Member States which are facing challenges as part of their asylum systems, due in particular to their social, geographical or demographic situation. To that end, adequate funding should be made available to local and regional authorities and international and civil society organisations, including through the possibility for local and regional authorities to access the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund and other funds for actions that fall directly under their responsibilities in a more direct and efficient manner.

AddedRecital 15: (15) When applying this Regulation the ‘best interests of the child’ should be a primary consideration, in line with the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In assessing the best interests of the child, Member States' authorities should in particular take due account of the principle of family unity, the minor’s well-being and social development, the minor's cultural origin and linguistic skills, safety and security considerations and the views of the minor in accordance with his or her age and maturity.

AddedRecital 29: (29) In accordance with relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, when assessing applications for international protection, the competent authorities of the Member States should use methods for the assessment of the applicant's credibility in a manner that respects the individual's rights as guaranteed by the Charter, in particular the right to human dignity and the respect for private and family life. Specifically as regards sexual orientation and gender identity, the individual assessment of the applicant's credibility should not be based on stereotyped notions concerning sexual orientation and gender identity and the applicant should not be submitted to detailed questioning or tests as to his or her sexual practices. Moreover, the competent national authorities should not consider the statements of the applicant to lack credibility on the sole ground that the applicant did not rely on his or her sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics when he or she first set out the details of his or her persecution.

AddedRecital 34: (34) For the purpose of assessing serious harm which may qualify applicants as eligible for subsidiary protection, the notion of indiscriminate violence, in accordance with relevant case law of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, should include violence that may extend to people irrespective of their personal circumstances. Factors to be taken into account when determining whether indiscriminate violence exists could include external aggression, occupation, foreign domination, internal conflicts, severe violation of human rights or events seriously disturbing public order in the country of origin, or in a part thereof.

AddedRecital 37: (37) The residence permit and the travel documents issued to beneficiaries of international protection following the entry into force of this Regulation should comply with the rules laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 and Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 respectively.

AddedRecital 39: (39) With a view to ascertaining whether beneficiaries of international protection are still in need of that protection, determining authorities may review the granted status when a significant relevant change in the beneficiaries' country of origin occurs as indicated by common analysis and guidance on the situation in the country of origin provided at Union level by the Agency and the European networks on country of origin information in accordance with Articles 8 and 10 of Regulation (EU) No XXX/XX [Regulation on the European Union Agency for Asylum 37 .

AddedRecital 41: (41) When the refugee status or the subsidiary protection status ceases to exist, the application of the decision by which the determining authority of a Member State revokes, ends or does not renew the status should be deferred for a reasonable period of time after adoption, in order to give the third-country national or stateless person concerned the possibility to apply for residence on the basis of other grounds than those having justified the granting of international protection, such as family or medical reasons, or reasons related to employment or to education, in accordance with relevant Union and national law.

AddedRecital 43: (43) In order to discourage secondary movements within the European Union, beneficiaries of international protection, if found in a Member State other than the Member State having granted them protection without fulfilling the conditions of stay or reside, should be taken back by the Member State responsible in accordance with the procedure laid down by Regulation41.

AddedRecital 44: deleted

AddedRecital 47: (47) Within the limits set out by international obligations, the granting of benefits with regard to access to employment and social security may require the prior issuing of a residence permit.

AddedRecital 48: (48) Competent authorities may restrict the access to employed or self-employed activities as regard posts which involve the exercise of public authority, and responsibility for safeguarding the general interest of the State or other public authorities.

AddedRecital 49: (49) In order to enhance the effective exercise of the rights and benefits laid down in this Regulation by beneficiaries of international protection, it is necessary to take into account their specific needs and the particular integration challenges with which they are confronted, and facilitate their access to integration related rights and measures in particular as regards education and employment-related educational opportunities, vocational training and access to recognition procedures for foreign diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in particular due to the lack of documentary evidence and their inability to meet the costs related to the recognition procedures.

AddedRecital 50: (50) Equal treatment and the principle of non-discrimination should be applied to beneficiaries of international protection with nationals of the Member State granting protection as regards social security.

AddedRecital 51: (51) In addition, especially to avoid social hardship and to facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection and of subsidiary protection, it is appropriate to provide them with social and legal assistance without discrimination.

AddedRecital 52: (52) Access to healthcare, including both physical and mental, sexual and reproductive healthcare, should be ensured to beneficiaries of international protection.

AddedRecital 52 a (new): (52a) Beneficiaries of international protection should also enjoy access to goods and services and the supply of goods and services made available to the public, including information and counselling services provided by employment offices.

AddedRecital 53: (53) In order to facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection into society, beneficiaries of international protection should have free and effective access to integration measures, modalities to be set by the Member States. Member States may make the participation in such integration measures, such as language courses, civic integration courses, vocational training and other employment-related courses compulsory, provided that those integration measures are easily accessible and free of charge. Participation in the measures in question should always be without prejudice to the rights and obligations established by this Regulation and should never constitute grounds for review, revocation, ending, refusal or non-renewal of refugee status or subsidiary protection status. Any sanction established by Member States in national law, regarding failure to attend obligatory integration measures, should always be proportional.

AddedArticle 15 – paragraph 1 – point b: deleted

AddedArticle 21 – paragraph 1 – point b: deleted

AddedArticle 22 – paragraph 3: 3. Within the limits set by international obligations, granting of benefits with regard to access to employment, social security may require the prior issuing of a residence permit.

AddedArticle 22 – paragraph 4: 4. When applying the provisions of this Chapter, the specific situation of persons with special needs such as minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with children, victims of human trafficking, persons with mental disorders and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence shall be taken into account provided an individual evaluation of their situation establishes that they have special needs.

AddedArticle 24 – paragraph 1: The competent authorities shall provide beneficiaries of international protection with information on the rights and obligations relating to refugee status or subsidiary protection status, as soon as possible after that has been granted. That information shall be provided in writing, in a language that the beneficiary can understand and shall make explicit references to the consequences of not complying with the obligations outlined in Article 29 on movement within the Union.

AddedArticle 26 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) For beneficiaries of refugee status, the residence permit shall have a period of validity of five years and be renewable thereafter for periods of five years.

AddedArticle 26 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) For beneficiaries of subsidiary protection status, the residence permit shall have a period of validity of five years and be renewable thereafter for periods of five years.

AddedArticle 28 – paragraph 1: 1. Beneficiaries of international protection shall enjoy freedom of movement within the territory of the Member State that granted international protection, including the right to choose their place of residence in that territory, under the same conditions and restrictions as those provided for other third-country nationals legally resident in their territories.

AddedArticle 30 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) working conditions, including pay and dismissal, working hours, leave and holidays, family leave as well as health and safety requirements at the workplace;

AddedArticle 30 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) freedom of association and affiliation, and membership of an organisation representing workers or employers or of any organisation whose members are engaged in a specific occupation, including the rights and benefits conferred by such organisations;

AddedArticle 30 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) education and employment-related education opportunities, vocational training, including training courses for upgrading skills, practical workplace experience;

AddedArticle 30 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) advice and follow-up services afforded by employment offices.

AddedArticle 30 – paragraph 3: 3. Competent authorities, shall facilitate the full access to the activities referred to in paragraph (2)(c) and (d).

AddedArticle 31 – paragraph 2: 2. Adults granted international protection shall have access to the general education system, further training or retraining, under the same conditions as nationals.

AddedArticle 34 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: Access to certain social assistance specified in national law may be made conditional on the effective participation of the beneficiary of international protection in integration measures, which shall be free of charge, available and easily accessible.

AddedArticle 34 – paragraph 2: deleted

AddedArticle 35 – paragraph 2: 2. Beneficiaries of international protection who have special needs, such as pregnant women, disabled people, persons who have undergone torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence or minors who have been victims of any form of abuse, neglect, exploitation, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or who have suffered from armed conflict shall be provided with adequate healthcare, including treatment of mental disorders when needed, under the same eligibility conditions as nationals of the Member State that has granted protection.

AddedArticle 36 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: As soon as possible and within five days at the latest, as outlined in Article 22(1) of Regulation EU no xxx/xxx[Procedures regulation], competent authorities shall take the necessary measures to ensure the representation of unaccompanied minors by a legal guardian or, where necessary, by an organisation responsible for the care and well-being of minors, or by any other appropriate representation including that based on legislation or court order.

AddedArticle 36 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point d: deleted

AddedArticle 36 – paragraph 4: 4. As far as possible, siblings shall be kept together, taking into account the best interests of the minor concerned and, in particular, his or her age and degree of maturity. Changes of residence of unaccompanied minors shall be limited to a minimum and placement in administrative detention shall be avoided.

AddedArticle 37 – paragraph 1: 1. Beneficiaries of international protection shall have access to accommodation under conditions equivalent to those applicable to nationals.

AddedArticle 37 – paragraph 2: 2. National dispersal practices of beneficiaries of international protection shall be carried out without discrimination of beneficiaries of international protection and shall ensure equal opportunities regarding access to accommodation.

AddedArticle 38 – paragraph 1: 1. In order to facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection into society, beneficiaries of international protection shall have access to integration measures provided by the Member States, in particular language courses, civic orientation and integration programs and vocational training which shall be free of charge and easily accessible and shall take into account their specific needs.

AddedArticle 38 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States may make participation in integration measures compulsory, provided that the integration measures in question are free of charge and easily accessible, and take account of the specific needs of the beneficiary of international protection. Participation in integration measures shall be without prejudice to the rights and obligations established by this Regulation and shall not constitute grounds for review, revocation, ending, refusal or non-renewal of refugee status or subsidiary protection status and the rights and obligations with regard thereto.