Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national.
Date: 2001-07-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: admission of aliens, foreign national, migration policy, right of asylum

C 304 E/192

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the
Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member
States by a third-country national

(2001/C 304 E/10)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 447 final (cid:151) 2001/0182(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 26 July 2001)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular subparagraph (1)(a) of the first
paragraph of Article 63,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,

Whereas:

(1) A common policy on asylum,
including a Common
is a constituent part of the
European Asylum System,
European Union’s objective of progressively establishing
an area of freedom, security and justice open to those
who, forced by circumstances, legitimately seek protection
in the Community.

(2) The European Council, at its special meeting in Tampere
on 15 and 16 October 1999, agreed to work towards
establishing a Common European Asylum System, based
on the full and inclusive application of
the Geneva
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July
1951, as supplemented by the New York Protocol of
31 January 1967, thus ensuring that nobody is sent back
of
persecution,
to
non-refoulement.

i.e. maintaining

principle

the

(3) The Tampere conclusions also stated that

this system
should include, in the short term, a clear and workable
determination of the State responsible for the examination
of an asylum application.

and for

the Member States
It should,

(4) Such a method should be based on objective, fair criteria
the persons
both for
concerned.
in particular, make it possible to
rapidly determine the Member State responsible, so as
to guarantee effective access to the procedures for deter-
mining refugee status and not
to compromise the
objective of the rapid processing of asylum applications
which is the basis of Council Directive . . ./. . ./EC on
minimum standards on procedures in Member States for
granting and withdrawing refugee status.

the Union,

(5) As regards the introduction in successive phases of a
common European asylum system that should lead,
in
the longer term, to a common procedure and a uniform
status, valid throughout
for those granted
asylum, it is appropriate at this stage, while making the
necessary improvements in the light of experience,
to
confirm the principles underlying the Convention deter-
mining the State responsible for examining applications
for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the
European Communities (1), signed in Dublin on 15 June
1990 (hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the Dublin Convention(cid:146)),
whose implementation has
stimulated the process of
harmonising asylum policies and has made it possible to
mitigate the negative aspects of the unequal direction of
the flows of asylum seekers.

(6) Family unity should be preserved in so far as this is
compatible with the other objectives pursued by estab-
lishing criteria and mechanisms
for determining the
State responsible for examining an asylum application.

this principle

consistent. However,

(7) The processing together of the asylum applications of the
members of one family by a single Member State makes it
the applications are examined
possible to ensure that
thoroughly and the decisions taken in respect of them
are
should not
contradict the objective of examining asylum applications
quickly and should therefore be limited to those cases
the family member
where the asylum application of
who arrived first is held over by the authority responsible
for the determination of refugee status under a normal
procedure, with the exception of admissibility procedures,
accelerated procedures applicable to manifestly unfounded
applications, and appeals. Nevertheless, the Member States
should be able to derogate from the responsibility criteria,
so as to make it possible to bring family members
together where this is necessary on serious grounds, in
particular those of a humanitarian nature.

(8) The progressive creation of an area without

internal
frontiers in which the free movement of persons is
guaranteed in accordance with the Treaty establishing
that each Member
the European Community means
its actions
State is answerable to all
concerning the entry and residence of
third-country
nationals and should, in a spirit of solidarity and respon-
regards
sibility, assume the consequences
asylum. The criteria for assigning responsibility should
reflect this principle.

the others for

thereof as

(1) OJ C 254, 19.8.1997, p. 1.

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(9) Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of indi-
viduals with regard to the processing of personal data and
on the free movement of such data shall apply (1). It is
to allow the exchanges of personal data
necessary,
essential
the provisions
relating to taking charge of and taking back asylum
seekers and for the fulfilment of all obligations resulting
from this Regulation, to clarify the application of certain
provisions of that Directive.

implementation of

the

for

effectiveness

increased, by bilateral

(10) The application of the Regulation can be facilitated, and
its
arrangements
between Member States for improving communications
between competent departments,
reducing time limits
for procedures or simplifying the processing of requests
to take charge or take back, or establishing procedures for
the performance of transfers.

(11) A system for limiting the number of transfers of asylum
seekers between two Member States may constitute a
rationalisation that can benefit both the Member States
concerned and the asylum seekers.

(12) Continuity between the system for determining the State
responsible established by the Dublin Convention and the
system established by this Regulation should be ensured.
Similarly, consistency should be ensured between this
Regulation and Council Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000
of 11 December 2000 concerning the establishment of
the
the comparison of
(cid:145)Eurodac(cid:146)
effective application of the Dublin Convention (2).

fingerprints

for

for

(13) There is no reason why this Regulation should have a
different territorial application from that of the Dublin
Convention, which it is intended to replace, especially in
view of the excessive constraints which any transfer from
remote
the persons
concerned.

territories would

involve

for

(14) The Regulation should be applied in the same way for all

asylum seekers without discrimination.

(15) The Member States should provide a system of penalties

for the infringement of this Regulation.

(16) Since the measures required for implementing this Regu-
lation are measures of general scope within the meaning
of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June
1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of
implementing powers conferred on the Commission (3),
such measures should be adopted under the regulatory
procedure laid down in Article 5 of the said Decision.

(17) The application of the Regulation should be evaluated at

regular intervals.

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.
(2) OJ L 316, 15.12.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(18) The Regulation observes the fundamental rights and prin-
ciples which are acknowledged in particular in the Charter
of Fundamental Rights of
In
particular, it seeks to ensure full observance of the right
to asylum guaranteed by Article 18.

the European Union (4).

(19) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
objective of
the proposed measure, namely the estab-
lishment of criteria and mechanisms for determining the
Member State responsible for examining an asylum
the Member States by a
application lodged in one of
third-country national,
the
Member States and, given the scale and effects, can
therefore be achieved only at Community level. This
Regulation is
limited to the minimum required to
achieve that objective and does not go beyond what is
necessary for that purpose,

attained by

cannot be

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

This Regulation lays down the criteria and mechanisms for
determining the Member State responsible for examining an
asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a
third-country national.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation,

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(cid:145)third-country national(cid:146) means anyone who is not a citizen
of the Union within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the
Treaty establishing the European Community;

(cid:145)Geneva Convention(cid:146) means the Convention of 28 July
1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as supplemented
by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967;

(cid:145)asylum application(cid:146) means the request for protection which
is submitted by a third-country national to a Member State
and which can be regarded as having been submitted on
is a refugee
the grounds that the third-country national
within the meaning of Article 1(A) of
the Geneva
Convention. Any request for protection shall be deemed
to be an asylum application, unless the person concerned
explicitly seeks another type of protection for which a
separate request can be submitted;

(cid:145)asylum seeker(cid:146) means

the third-country
(cid:145)applicant(cid:146) or
national who has
lodged an application for asylum
concerning which no final decision has yet been taken;
any decision from which all possible means of appeal
provided for by Directive
. . ./. . ./EC on minimum
standards on procedures in Member States for granting
and withdrawing refugee status have been exhausted shall
be final;

(4) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.

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(cid:145)examination of an asylum application(cid:146) means any exam-
ination of, or decision or ruling concerning, an asylum
application by the competent authorities in accordance
with Council Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on minimum standards
on procedures in Member States for granting and with-
drawing refugee status] except for procedures for deter-
mining the State responsible in accordance with this Regu-
lation;

of an application for a residence document or of an asylum
application;

(k)

(cid:145)visa(cid:146) means the authorisation or decision of a Member
State required for transit or entry for a proposed stay in
that Member State or in several Member States. The nature
of the visa is determined in accordance with the following
definitions:

(e)

(f)

either

express,

terminates

i.e. where

asylum seeker

(cid:145)withdrawal of the asylum application(cid:146) means the action by
which the
the procedures
initiated by the submission of his asylum application;
the
such action may be
applicant makes his wish known to the
authority
responsible in writing, or implicit,
i.e. where the tests
stipulated in the relevant provisions of Council Directive
. . ./. . ./EC [on minimum standards on procedures
in
for granting and withdrawing refugee
Member States
status] are satisfied or where the applicant stays without
having received permission to do so on the territory of
another Member State during the determination of
the
examination of his
State
application;

responsible or during the

(g)

(cid:145)refugee(cid:146) means any third-country national qualifying for
the status defined by the Geneva Convention and auth-
orised to reside as such on the territory of a Member State;

(h) (cid:145)unaccompanied minor(cid:146) means any third-country national
under the age of eighteen who arrives on the territory of a
Member State without being accompanied by an adult
responsible for him whether by law or by custom, and
for as long as he is not effectively in the care of such a
person;

(i)

formed in the

(cid:145)family members(cid:146) means an asylum seeker’s spouse or
unmarried partner in a stable relationship, if the legislation
of the Member State responsible treats unmarried couples
in the same way as married couples, provided that the
country of origin; his
couple was
unmarried minor children under the age of eighteen, irres-
pective of the nature of their filiation or his ward; his
father, his mother or his guardian, if the asylum seeker is
himself an unmarried minor under the age of eighteen;
where appropriate, other persons to whom the applicant
is related and who used to live in the same home in the
country of origin,
the persons concerned is
dependent on the other;

if one of

(j)

(cid:145)residence document(cid:146) means any authorisation issued by the
authorities of a Member State authorizing a third-country
national to stay on its territory, including the documents
substantiating the authorisation to remain on the territory
under
the
circumstances preventing a removal order
from being
carried out no longer apply, with the exception of visas
and residence authorisations issued during the examination

temporary protection arrangements or until

(i) (cid:145)long-stay visa(cid:146):

the authorisation or decision of a
Member State required for entry for a proposed stay
in that Member State of more than three months;

(ii) (cid:145)short-stay visa(cid:146):

the authorisation or decision of a
Member State required for entry for a proposed stay
in that State or in several Member States for a period
whose total duration does not exceed three months;

(iii) (cid:145)transit visa(cid:146) means the authorisation or decision of a
through the
that Member State or several Member

Member State for entry for a transit
territory of
States, excluding transit at an airport;

(iv) (cid:145)airport transit visa(cid:146) mean the authorisation or decision
allowing a third-country national specifically subject to
this requirement to pass through the transit zone of an
airport, without gaining access to the national territory
of the Member State concerned, during a stopover or a
transfer between two sections of an international flight.

CHAPTER II

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 3

1.
An asylum application shall be examined by a single
Member State. That Member State shall be the one which the
criteria set out in Chapter III indicate is responsible.

2.
The application shall be examined by the Member State
responsible in conformity with Council Directive . . ./. . ./EC on
minimum standards on procedures
for
granting and withdrawing refugee status.

in Member States

In derogation from paragraph 1, each Member State may
3.
examine an asylum application lodged with it by a third-
country national, even if such examination is not its responsi-
bility under the criteria of this Regulation. In such an event,
that State responsible within the meaning of this Regulation
and shall assume the obligations associated with that respon-
sibility. Where appropriate, it shall inform the Member State
previously responsible, the State conducting a procedure for
determining the State responsible or
the State which has
been requested to take charge of or take back the applicant.

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The asylum seeker shall be informed in writing of the date
when the examination of his application shall start.

Article 4

The process of determining the Member State responsible
soon as an asylum

1.
under
application is first lodged with a Member State.

this Regulation shall

start as

2.
An asylum application shall be deemed to have been
lodged once a form submitted by the asylum seeker or a
report prepared by the authorities has reached the competent
authorities of
an
application is not made in writing, the time elapsing between
the statement of intention and the preparation of a report
should be as short as possible.

the Member State

concerned. Where

CHAPTER III

HIERARCHY OF CRITERIA

Article 5

1.
The criteria for determining the Member State responsible
established by this Chapter shall be applied in the order in
which they are presented.

2.
The State responsible in accordance with the criteria,
shall be determined on the basis of the situation obtaining
when the asylum seeker first lodged his application with a
Member State.

Article 6

3.
The substitution of a request for protection on a basis
other than the Geneva Convention for an asylum application
that has been duly lodged shall not stop the procedure for
determining the State responsible from continuing.

Where the asylum seeker is an unaccompanied minor,
the
Member State where a member of his family is who is able
to take charge of him shall be responsible, provided that this is
in the best interests of the child.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the situation of a
4.
minor who is accompanying the asylum seeker and meets the
definition of a family member set out in Article 2(1) shall be
indissociable from that of his parent or guardian and shall be a
matter for the Member State responsible for examining the
asylum application of the said parent or guardian, even if the
minor is not individually an asylum seeker.

Article 7

Where the asylum seeker has a member of his family who has
been allowed to reside as a refugee in a Member State, that
Member State shall be responsible for examining the asylum
application, provided that the persons concerned so desire.

an asylum application is

lodged with the
5. Where
competent authorities of a Member State by an applicant
who is on the territory of another Member State, the deter-
mination of the Member State responsible shall be made by the
Member State on whose territory the applicant is. The latter
Member State shall be informed without delay by the Member
State which received the application and shall then, for the
purposes of this Regulation, be regarded as the Member State
with which the asylum application was lodged.

The applicant shall be informed in writing of this transfer and
of the date on which it took place.

Article 8

1. Where the asylum seeker has a member of his family
whose asylum application is being examined in a Member
State under a normal procedure within the meaning of
Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on minimum standards on procedures
in Member States
for granting and withdrawing refugee
status] and has not yet been the subject of a decision by the
authority responsible for the determination within the meaning
of the said Directive, that Member State shall be responsible for
examining the asylum application, provided that the persons
concerned so desire.

6.
An asylum seeker who is present in another Member
State and there lodges an asylum application after withdrawing
his application during the process of determining the State
responsible shall be taken back, under the conditions laid
down in Article 21, by the Member State with which that
asylum application was lodged, with a view to completing
the process of
for
examining the asylum application.

determining

responsible

State

the

This obligation shall cease, if the asylum seeker has since left
the territories of the Member States for a period of at least
three months or has obtained a residence document from a
Member State.

2. Where the family member’s asylum application is the
subject of an admissibility procedure within the meaning of
Directive . . ./. . ./EC [on minimum standards on procedures
in Member States
for granting and withdrawing refugee
status] when the Member State on whose territory that
person is contacted by the Member State conducting the
procedure for determining the Member State responsible for
examining the application, the Member State requested shall
so inform the requesting Member State in a provisional reply
within not more than two weeks. The Member State in which
the family member
inform the requesting State
immediately of the outcome of the admissibility procedure.
Where the family member’s application is allowed under the
normal procedure, paragraph 1 shall apply.

shall

is

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Article 9

1. Where the asylum seeker is in possession of a valid
residence document,
the Member State which issued the
document
shall be responsible for examining the asylum
application.

2. Where the asylum seeker is in possession of a valid visa,
the Member State which issued the visa shall be responsible for
examining the asylum application, except if the visa was issued
at a diplomatic post or on the written authorisation of another
Member State.
In such a case, that Member State shall be
responsible for examining the asylum application. Where a
Member State first consults the central authority of another
in particular for security reasons, the latter’s
Member State,
reply to the consultation shall not constitute written author-
isation within the meaning of this provision.

3. Where the asylum seeker is in possession of more than
one valid residence document or visa issued by different
Member States, the responsibility for examining the asylum
application shall be assumed by the Member States in the
following order:

(a) the State which issued the residence document conferring
the right to the longest period of residency or, where the
periods of validity are identical, the State which issued the
residence document having the latest expiry date;

(b) the State which issued the visa having the latest expiry date

where the various visas are of the same type;

(c) where visas are of different kinds, the State which issued
the visa having the longest period of validity, or, where the
periods of validity are identical, the State which issued the
visa having the latest expiry date.

4. Where the asylum seeker is in possession only of one or
more residence documents which have expired less than two
years previously or one or more visas which have expired less
than six months previously and which enabled him actually to
enter
the provisions of
paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall apply for such
time as the applicant has not
the
Member States.

the territory of a Member State,

the territories of

left

Where the asylum seeker is in possession of one or more
residence documents which have expired more than two
years previously or one or more visas which have expired
more than six months previously and enabled him to enter
the territory of a Member State and where he has not left
the Member State in
the territories of
which the application is lodged shall be responsible.

the Member States,

5.
The fact that the residence document or visa was issued
on the basis of a false or assumed identity or on submission of
forged, counterfeit or invalid documents shall not prevent
responsibility being allocated to the Member State which
issued it. However, the State issuing the residence document
or visa shall not be responsible, if it can establish that a fraud
was committed after the document/visa had been issued.

Article 10

Where it can be shown that an asylum seeker has irregularly
crossed the border into a Member State by land, sea or air,

having come from a non-member State of the European Union,
the Member State thus entered shall be responsible for
examining the asylum application.

That State shall cease to be responsible, however, if it is shown
that the applicant has been living in the Member State where
the asylum application was made for at least six months before
making his asylum application.
In that case it is the latter
Member State which shall be responsible for examining the
asylum application.

Article 11

Responsibility for examining the asylum application of a
1.
third-country national not subject to a visa requirement shall
lie with the Member State in which he lodges his application.

2. Where the asylum application is made in transit in an
airport of a Member State by a third-country national whose
final destination is in a third State, that Member State shall be
responsible for examining the application.

Article 12

A Member State which has knowingly tolerated the unlawful
presence of a third-country national on its territory for more
than two months shall be responsible for examining the asylum
application.

Article 13

Where it can be shown that a third-country national has
remained unlawfully for six months or more on the territory
of a Member State,
that State shall be responsible for
examining the asylum application.

shall

cease,

responsibility

Such
has
subsequently remained unlawfully for six months or more on
the territory of another Member State, or if he has left the
territories of the Member States for a period of more than
three months.

applicant

the

if

Article 14

Where no Member State responsible for examining the asylum
application can be designated on the basis of the criteria listed
the first Member State with which the
in this Regulation,
asylum application was
for
examining it.

lodged shall be

responsible

Article 15

Where several members of a family submit asylum applications
in the same Member State simultaneously, or on dates
for determining the
the procedures
sufficiently close that
State responsible can be conducted together, and where the
application of the criteria set out in this Regulation would
lead to them being separated, the State responsible shall be
determined on the basis of the following provisions:

(a) responsibility for examining the asylum applications of all
the members of the family shall lie with the Member State
which the criteria indicate is responsible for examining the
applications of the largest number of them;

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(b) failing this, responsibility shall lie with the Member State
which the criteria indicate is responsible for examining the
application of the oldest of them.

2. Where a Member State issues a residence document to
the applicant, the obligations specified in paragraph 1 shall be
transferred to that Member State.

CHAPTER IV

HUMANITARIAN CLAUSE

Article 16

in

or

on

based

family

particular

1.
Any Member State, even where it is not responsible under
the criteria set out in this Regulation, may for humanitarian
reasons,
cultural
considerations, examine an asylum application at the request
of another Member State, provided that the applicant consents.
Member States shall regard situations where one of the persons
concerned is dependent on the assistance of
the other on
account of pregnancy or maternity, their state of health or
great age as justifying the uniting of the asylum seeker with
a member of his family present on the territory of one of the
Member States in circumstances not provided for by this Regu-
lation.

Where the Member State thus approached accedes to the
request, responsibility for examining the application shall be
transferred to it.

2.
The conditions and procedures for implementing this
Article, including, where appropriate, conciliation mechanisms
for settling differences between Member States concerning the
need to unite the persons in question, or the place where this
should be done, shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 29(2).

3. Where it can be shown that the asylum seeker has resided
for at least six months in a Member State, the obligations
specified in paragraph 1 shall be transferred to that Member
State.

4.
The obligations specified in paragraph 1 shall cease
where the third-country national has left the territory of the
Member States for at least
three months, unless the third-
in possession of a valid residence
country national
document issued by the Member State responsible.

is

5.
The obligations specified in paragraph 1(d) and (e) shall
likewise cease, once the State responsible for examining the
application has adopted and actually implemented, following
the withdrawal or rejection of the application, the provisions
that are necessary before the third-country national can go to
his country of origin or to another country to which he may
lawfully travel.

Article 18

1. Where a Member State with which an asylum application
has been lodged considers that another Member State is
responsible for examining the application, it may, as quickly
as possible and in any case within sixty-five working days of
the date on which the application was lodged within the
meaning of Article 4(2), call upon the other Member State to
take charge of the applicant.

CHAPTER V

TAKING CHARGE AND TAKING BACK

Article 17

Where the request to take charge is not made within the period
of sixty-five working days, responsibility for examining the
asylum application shall
lie with the State in which the
application was lodged.

The Member State responsible for examining an asylum

1.
application under this Regulation shall be obliged to:

(a) take charge, under the conditions laid down in Articles 18
to 20, of an asylum seeker who has lodged an application
in a different Member State,

(b) complete the examination of the asylum application,

(c)

take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 21, an
applicant whose application is under examination and who
is on the territory of another Member State without
permission,

(d) take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 21, an
applicant who has withdrawn the application under exam-
ination and made an application in another Member State,

The request

2.
enabling the authorities of
whether it
down in this Regulation.

to take charge shall contain information
the State requested to check
the criteria laid

is responsible on the basis of

The rules on the preparation of and the procedures for trans-
mitting requests shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 29(2).

3.
The requesting Member State may ask for an urgent reply
in cases where the asylum application was lodged after leave to
enter or remain was refused, after an arrest for an unlawful
stay or after the service or execution of a removal order and
where the asylum seeker is held in detention. The request shall
state the legal and factual information warranting an urgent
reply and the period within which a reply is expected.

(e)

take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 21, a
third-country national whose application it has rejected and
who is on the territory of another Member State without
permission.

4.
The applicant shall be informed immediately, and in a
language which he understands, of the fact that a request to
take charge has been sent to another Member State and of the
time limits applicable.

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Article 19

1.
The Member State requested shall make the necessary
checks, in particular in its files, and shall give a decision on
the request to take charge within one month of the date on
which the request was received. If there is no formal proof, the
requested State shall acknowledge its responsibility where there
is a body of corroborating evidence which makes it possible to
invoke that State’s responsibility with a reasonable degree of
probability.

4. Where the transfer does not take place within the period
of six months, responsibility shall lie with the Member State in
which the asylum application was lodged.

Supplementary rules on carrying out transfers may be
5.
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 29(2).

Article 21

The list of proof and evidence and the rules relating to its
interpretation shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 29(2).

An asylum seeker shall be taken back in accordance with

1.
Article 4(6) and Article 17(c), (d) and (e) as follows:

2. Where the requesting State has pleaded urgency, the State
it can to reply within the time limit
requested shall do all
inform the requesting State
it shall
requested. Failing this,
before that time limit expires when it will be able to provide
a definitive answer.

(a) the request for the applicant to be taken back must contain
information enabling the State requested to check that it is
responsible;

(b) the State called upon to take back the applicant shall be
obliged to make the necessary checks and reply to the
request addressed to it within eight days of the referral;

3.
Failure to act within the period of one month mentioned
in paragraph 1 shall be tantamount to accepting the request.

(c)

Article 20

communicate

1. Where the State requested accepts that it should take
charge, the State in which the asylum application was lodged
single decision
shall
concerning the inadmissibility of his application in that
Member State and the transfer to the State responsible within
no more than fifteen working days from the date of receipt of
the reply from the State responsible.

applicant

to the

a

in exceptional cases,
the Member State requested may,
before the eight-day time limit has expired, give a
provisional reply stating the period within which it will
give its definitive answer. Such period should be as brief
as possible and may, in any event, not exceed the period of
fourteen days from the date of dispatch of the provisional
reply;

decision within

(d) where the Member State requested does not communicate
its
in
subparagraph (b), or within the fourteen days mentioned
in subparagraph (c), it shall be considered to have agreed to
take back the asylum seeker.

days mentioned

eight

the

2.
The decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall set out the
grounds on which it is based. It shall contain details of the time
if necessary,
limit on carrying out
contain information on the place and date at which the
if he his travelling to the State
applicant should appear,
from the decision
responsible by his own means. Appeal
shall
suspend the
to the
performance of the transfer.

the transfer and shall,

courts. Appeal

shall not

lie

(e) a State which agrees to take back an asylum seeker shall be
obliged to readmit that person to its territory. The transfer
shall be carried out in accordance with the national law of
the requesting Member State, after consultation between
the Member States concerned, as
soon as practically
possible, and at the latest within six months of acceptance
of the request to take charge;

3.
The transfer of the applicant from the Member State in
which the asylum application was lodged to the Member State
responsible shall be carried out in accordance with the national
law of the first Member State, after consultation between the
Member States concerned, as soon as practically possible, and
at the latest within six months of acceptance of the request to
take charge.

(f)

If necessary,
the asylum seeker shall be supplied by the
requesting State with a laissez-passer of the design adopted
in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 29(2).

the requesting State shall notify the asylum seeker of the
decision concerning his being taken back by the Member
State responsible within a period not exceeding fifteen
working days from the receipt of
the reply from the
State responsible. The decision shall set out the grounds
on which it
shall be supplemented with
details of the time limit on carrying out the transfer and
if necessary, contain information on the place and
shall,
date at which the applicant should appear, if he is travelling
to the State responsible by his own means. Appeal from
the decision shall
lie to the courts. Appeal shall not
suspend performance of the transfer.

is based.

It

The Member State responsible shall
inform the requesting
State, as appropriate, of the safe arrival of the asylum seeker
or of the fact that he did not appear within the set time limit.

If necessary, the asylum seeker shall be supplied by the
requesting State with a laissez-passer of
the design
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 29(2).

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The Member State responsible shall inform the requesting
State, as appropriate, of
the asylum
seeker or of the fact that he did not appear within the
set time limit.

the safe arrival of

2. Where the transfer
is not carried out within the
six-month time limit, the State responsible shall be relieved
of its obligation to take back, and responsibility shall then be
transferred to the requesting State.

3.
The rules of proof and evidence and their interpretation,
and on the preparation of and the procedures for transmitting
requests, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 29(2).

4.
Supplementary rules on carrying out transfers may be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 29(2).

CHAPTER VI

ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 22

1.
Each Member State shall communicate to any Member
State that so requests such personal data concerning the
asylum seeker as is appropriate, relevant and non-excessive for:

(a) the determination of

the Member State responsible for

examining the asylum application,

(b) examining the asylum application,

(c)

implementing any obligation arising under this Regulation.

The information referred to in paragraph 1 may only

2.
cover:

(a) personal details of the applicant, and, where appropriate,
the members of his family (full name and where appro-
priate,
pseudonyms;
nationality, present and former; date and place of birth),

nicknames

former

name;

or

(b) identity and travel papers (references, validity, date of issue,

issuing authority, place of issue, etc.),

(c) other information necessary for establishing the identity of
in

the
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000;

fingerprints

applicant,

processed

including

Furthermore, provided it is necessary for the examination
3.
of the asylum application, the Member State responsible may
request another Member State to let it know on what grounds
the asylum seeker bases his application and, where applicable,
the grounds for any decisions taken concerning the applicant.
The Member State may refuse to respond to the request
submitted to it, if the communication of such information is
the State or the
likely to harm the essential
protection of
the
rights of
the liberties and fundamental
person concerned or of others. In any event, communication
of the information requested shall be subject to the written
approval of the asylum seeker.

interests of

Any request for information shall set out the grounds on
4.
which it is based and, where its purpose is to check whether
there is a criterion that is likely to entail the responsibility of
the Member State requested, shall state on what evidence or
what specific and verifiable part of the applicant’s statements it
is based.

The Member State requested shall be obliged to reply
5.
the
within one month. Where particular difficulties arise,
Member State requested may, within no more than two
weeks, give a provisional reply stating the period in which it
will be possible to give a definitive reply. Such period should
be as brief as possible and may in no case be longer than six
the researches carried out by the Member State
weeks.
requested which has exercised the right to give a provisional
reply yield information which shows that it is liable, that State
may not invoke the expiry of the time limit provided for in
Article 18(1) as a reason for refusing to comply with a request
to take charge.

If

The exchange of

information shall be effected at

6.
the
request of a Member State and may only take place between
authorities the designation of which by each Member State has
been communicated to the Commission, which shall
inform
the other Member States thereof.

7.
The information exchanged may only be used for the
purposes set out in paragraph 1. In each Member State such
information may, depending on its type and the powers of the
recipient authority, only be communicated to the authorities
and courts and tribunals entrusted with:

(a) the determination of the Member State which is responsible

for examining the asylum application,

(b) examining the asylum application,

(d) places of residence and routes travelled,

(c)

implementing any obligation arising under this Regulation.

(e) residence documents or visas issued by a Member State,

(f)

the place where the application was lodged,

(g) the date any previous asylum application was lodged, the
date the present application was lodged, the stage reached
in the proceedings and the decision taken, if any.

8.
The Member State that forwards the information shall
ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. If it transpires that
that Member State has forwarded information which is inac-
curate or which should not have been forwarded, the recipient
Member States shall be informed thereof immediately. They
shall be obliged to correct such information or to have it
erased.

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The asylum seeker has the right

9.
request, of any data that is processed concerning him.

to be informed, on

this Regulation or of Directive 95/46/EC,

If he finds that this information has been processed in breach
in particular
of
because it is incomplete or inaccurate, he is entitled to have
it corrected, erased or blocked.

The authority correcting, erasing or blocking the data shall
inform, as appropriate, the State transmitting or receiving the
information.

The arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
2.
communicated to the Commission. The Commission shall
approve the arrangements referred to in subparagraphs (b)
and (c), after it has checked that they do not infringe this
Regulation.

CHAPTER VII

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 25

In each Member State concerned, a record shall be kept,
10.
either in the individual file for the person concerned or in a
register, of
information
the transmission and receipt of
exchanged.

This Regulation shall replace the Convention determining
1.
the State responsible for examining applications for asylum
lodged in one of
the European
Communities, signed in Dublin on 15 June 1990.

the Member States of

The data exchanged shall be kept

11.
for a period not
exceeding that which is necessary for the purposes for which
it is exchanged.

12. Where the data is not processed automatically or is not
contained, or intended to be entered, in a file, each Member
State should take appropriate measures to ensure compliance
with this Article through effective checks.

Article 23

Member States shall ensure that the departments responsible
for fulfilling the obligations arising under this Regulation shall
have the necessary resources for carrying out their tasks and in
particular for replying within the prescribed time limits to
requests for information, requests to take charge and requests
to take back.

Article 24

1. Member States may, on a bilateral basis, establish admin-
istrative arrangements between themselves concerning the
practical details of the implementation of the Regulation,
in
order to facilitate its application and increase its effectiveness.
Such arrangements may relate to:

(a) exchanges of liaison officers;

(b) simplification of the procedures and shortening of the time
limits relating to transmission and the examination of
requests to take charge and take back;

(c) a mechanism for rationalising transfers making it possible,
at the end of an agreed period which may not exceed one
month, to carry out, without prejudice to Articles 6, 7, 8,
15 and 16, the transfer only of those cases for which a
Member State is still in debit vis-(cid:224)-vis the other Member
State, once acceptances which cancel each other out have
been discounted. Any arrangement concerning the rational-
isation of transfers shall state the criteria on the basis of
which it is decided to perform, or not to perform, the
transfer of the asylum seekers concerned.

2.
However, to ensure continuity of the arrangements for
determining the Member State responsible for an asylum
application, where an application has been lodged after the
date mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 31, the
events that are likely to entail the responsibility of a Member
State under this Regulation shall be taken into consideration,
even if they precede that date.

3. Where,
in Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000 reference is
made to the Dublin Convention, such reference shall be
taken to be a reference made to this Regulation.

Article 26

As far as the French Republic is concerned, this Regulation
shall apply only to its European territory.

Article 27

Member States shall apply this Regulation to asylum seekers
without discrimination based on sex, race, colour, nationality
or country of origin, ethnic or social origins, genetic charac-
teristics, language, religion or convictions, political opinions or
any other opinion, membership of a national minority, wealth,
birth, a handicap, age or sexual orientation.

Article 28

Member States shall determine the system of penalties for
infringements of this Regulation and shall take any measures
necessary to ensure their implementation. The penalties thus
provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Article 29

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee
the Member States and

1.
composed of
chaired by the Commission representative.

representatives of

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In those cases where reference is made to this paragraph,
2.
the regulatory procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision
1999/468/EC shall apply, in accordance with Article 7 thereof.

of this Regulation at the same time as it presents reports on
the implementation of the Eurodac system provided for by
Article 24(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision

3.
1999/468/EC shall be three months.

Article 31

Article 30

At the latest three years after the date mentioned in the first
paragraph of Article 31, the Commission shall report to the
European Parliament and the Council on the application of this
Regulation and, where appropriate, shall propose the necessary
amendments. Member States shall forward to the Commission
all information appropriate for the preparation of that report,
at the latest six months before that time limit expires.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

It shall apply to asylum applications lodged as from the first
day of the sixth month following its entry into force. The
Member State responsible for the examination of an asylum
application submitted before that date shall be determined in
accordance with the criteria set out in the Dublin Convention.

Having presented the said report, the Commission shall report
to the European Parliament and the Council on the application

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and shall be
directly applicable in all Member States.