Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for a Council Directive laying down minimum standards on the reception of applicants for asylum in Member States"
Date: 2001-11-15
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU Member State, approximation of laws, right of asylum

3.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/85

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive laying down
minimum standards on the reception of applicants for asylum in Member States’

(2002/C 107/26)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Proposal for a Council Directive laying down minimum standards on the reception
of applicants for asylum in Member States [COM(2001) 181 final — 2001/0091 (CNS)];

having regard to the decision taken by the Council on 6 June 2001 to consult the Committee of the
Regions on this matter, under Article 265(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of the Bureau of the Committee of the Regions of 12 June 2001 to instruct
Commission 7 — Education, Vocational Training, Culture, Youth, Sport, Citizens’ Rights — to draw up
the relevant opinion;

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by Commission 7 on 1 October (CdR 214/2001 rev. 2 —
rapporteur: Mr Theodoros Georgakis);

having regard to Articles 61-63 of the Treaty of Amsterdam;

having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meeting held in Tampere in October 1999;

having regard to the Proposal for a Council Directive on minimum standards on procedures in Member
States for granting and withdrawing refugee status (COM(2000) 578 final);

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament:
Towards a common asylum procedure and a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for persons
granted asylum (COM(2000) 755 final);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion of 11 March 1999 on the European action plan
against racism (COM(98) 183 final) — CdR 369/98 fin (1);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion of 18 November 1999 on the document on
migratory flows in Europe — CdR 227/1999 fin (2);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion of 18 November 1999 on the ‘Proposal for a
Council Decision establishing a Community action programme to promote the integration of refugees’
(COM(98) 731 final) — CdR 347/1999 fin (3);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion of 28 June 2000 on the ‘Proposal for a Council
Decision creating a European Refugee Fund’ (COM(1999) 686 final) — CdR 80/2000 fin (4);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion of 20 September 2001 on the Communication
from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament: Towards a common asylum procedure
and a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for persons granted asylum (COM(2000) 755 final)
and the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a
Community immigration policy (COM(2000) 757 final) — CdR 90/2001 fin (5);

having regard to the Economic and Social Committee’s Opinions of 12 July 2001 on the Communication
from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament: Towards a common asylum procedure
and a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for persons granted asylum (COM(2000) 755 final)
and the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a
Community immigration policy (COM(2000) 757 final) (CES 938/2001 and CES 939/2001);

(1) OJ C 198, 14.7.1999, p. 48.
(2) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 67.
(3) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 71.
(4) OJ C 317, 6.11.2000, p. 4.
(5) OJ C 19, 22.1.2002, p. 20.

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3.5.2002

having regard to the comments of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on the
Proposal for a Council Directive laying down minimum standards on the reception of applicants for
asylum in Member States (UNHCR, Geneva, July 2001),

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 41st plenary session on 14 and 15 November 2001
(meeting of 15 November).

1. The views of the Committee of the Regions on the

draft directive

1.1.
The Committee of the Regions endorses the European
Commission’s proposal for a directive which seeks to harmon-
ise the legal framework and the conditions for reception of
applicants for asylum in the Member States of the European
Union, guaranteeing them a dignified standard of living and
respect for their human rights throughout the time that they
retain that status. Although the draft directive as a whole is
acceptable, certain points still have to be clarified to ensure the
in accordance with the principle of
directive is effective,
subsidiarity.

1.2.
The Committee of the Regions also sees as an aim of
the harmonisation of minimum standards on the reception of
applicants for asylum the limitation of secondary movement
of applicants for asylum encouraged by the diversity of the
rules in Member States applicable to reception conditions. The
present draft directive allows Member States considerable
scope for manoeuvre in the implementation of minimum
standards, and does not exclude the possibility of establishing
supplementary or indeed more favourable conditions for
reception. There is therefore a risk of
failing to prevent
secondary movement if the maintenance of minimum stan-
dards in all the Member States is not guaranteed and if the
measures to improve the efficiency of the reception system are
not strictly applied as envisaged in the text of the proposal for
a directive.

1.3.
As regards the definition of the concept of applicants
for asylum who are covered by the scope of the draft directive
and are entitled to the conditions envisaged for reception, the
Committee of the Regions supports the broad interpretation
of the term in accordance with the Geneva Convention on
refugee status, as specified also in the draft Directive on the
procedure for granting and withdrawal of refugee status. In
other words, asylum seekers should benefit from the reception
conditions from the moment when the application for asylum
is submitted at any point in the country of reception (even at
the border or in the international area of an airport) up to the
final decision on their application.

1.4.
The Committee of the Regions regards it as justifiable
and normal to issue to asylum seekers a special identity card
indicating their status and recognising their right to legal
movement within the country of reception.

1.5.
The Committee of the Regions agrees with the ban on
detention of applicants for asylum, and the possibility of

imposing detention only exceptionally and on a limited basis,
while it supports first and foremost the right to free movement
for asylum seekers who are legally present on the territory of
each Member State. Careful thought should however be given
to whether asylum seekers should have completely free choice
as to where they live in the meantime. Experience has
demonstrated that processing applications for asylum is much
faster when the asylum seekers live near to where the decision-
making authorities are located.

As regards the period of time during which the Member
1.6.
States must guarantee to applicants for asylum and the
accompanying members of their family the material conditions
of reception (i.e. housing, food, clothing, subsistence allow-
ance) the Committee of the Regions takes the view that it
should cover the whole period which elapses between their
recognition as applicants for asylum and the final decision on
their application. The draft directive allows the Member States
to choose between provision in kind and provision in the form
of financial assistance or coupons. Uniform application of the
rules in all the Member States would prevent applicants for
asylum being treated differently in different parts of the
European Union; at the same time, it would constitute a means
of pressure on the national governments to expedite the
consideration of applications for asylum within a reasonable
timescale — also in accordance with the relevant draft
directive. In so far as a financial contribution can be required
of an asylum seeker under Article 19, no additional payment
should be required. It would make more sense only to pay out
the allowances due to an asylum seeker on a supplementary,
subsidiary basis from the outset, in line with his or her financial
resources.

1.7.
The Committee of the Regions takes the view that the
provision of the material reception conditions should not be
cancelled after the granting of access to the labour market. The
granting of the right to work does not automatically mean
that the applicant for asylum and his family will find sufficient
work to provide a dignified standard of living for them. It
therefore thinks that first and foremost only a reduction in the
material reception conditions should be envisaged, and their
cancellation should be allowed only after a suitable assessment
of the living conditions of the applicant for asylum, and in
every case not until six months after the submission of the
application. It points out that, under the present draft directive,
the Member States cannot prohibit access to the labour market
and vocational training for asylum seekers for a period greater
than six months from the submission of the application for
asylum. Since access to work varies considerably among the
Member States, the Committee of the Regions supports the
idea of applying it as uniformly as possible.

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1.8.
The draft directive allows the Member States the
possibility to choose between a number of options the way in
which the material reception conditions are provided. Thus,
provision of housing, for example, can mean housing appli-
cants in specially adapted premises, reception centres, private
dwellings and hotels, or the provision of financial assistance.
Similar arrangements would apply to the food, clothing and
daily subsistence allowances. At the same time an assessment
must be made of the potential of the region and the local
authorities in the community where applicants for asylum are
placed and have their residence.

The Committee of the Regions endorses the Com-
1.9.
mission proposals on the provision of primary health and
psychological care during regular and appeal procedures, and
on access to emergency health and psychological care during
admissibility and accelerated procedures. Similarly, it agrees
with the obligatory access for minors to the public education
system until any deportation order against them is enforced.

1.10.
Article 22 of the draft directive provides for cases of
reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions following
negative behaviour by the applicant for asylum. The Com-
mittee of the Regions wishes to stress the need for strict and
exact application of this specific provision in the spirit of the
Geneva Convention, the European Social Charter and other
relevant international texts which protect fundamental rights,
prohibit racial discrimination, and cover minorities and vulner-
able groups.

As regards the provisions on people with special
1.11.
needs, the Committee of the Regions endorses the individual
assessment of each applicant for asylum to determine whether
he or she belongs to this category (the inclusion of unac-
companied minors, elderly people, pregnant women etc. is not
limitative), while the rehabilitation and re-integration of those
who have been tortured,
ill-treated, subjected to inhuman
behaviour, victims of violence etc. must be entrusted to special
centres with specialised staff.

Of special importance are the provisions concerning
1.12.
measures to be taken to improve the effectiveness of the
reception system (Articles 27-31 of the draft Directive). The
Committee of the Regions stresses the leading role of the
regions and the local authorities, which value the knowledge
and experience of the UN High Commission for Refugees
and non-governmental organisations, and will take on the

responsibility for ensuring harmonious relations between the
ethnic communities and the centres for reception of asylum
seekers, so as to prevent acts of racism and xenophobia and
facilitate the procedure for examining their applications.

2. The Committee of the Regions’ recommendations on
the reception of applicants for asylum in the Member
States

2.1.
The Committee of the Regions supports the principle
that applicants for asylum must be guaranteed a dignified
standard of living, and welcomes the Commission’s initiative
to implement measures to prevent the secondary movement
of asylum seekers which is due to the lack of homogeneity of
reception conditions in the various Member States.

2.2.
The Committee of the Regions would call for close
cooperation with the European Commission in implementing
this proposal for a Directive (e.g. exchange of views and
experience between local communities in different countries,
and the drawing-up of reports on the problems and conditions
encountered in the regions of the Member States where there
are reception centres for asylum seekers, etc.).

2.3.
The Committee of the Regions is in favour of a uniform
procedure for granting refugee status, to be completed rapidly
— or at any rate within a reasonable timescale. It attaches
great importance to the question of reception conditions for
asylum seekers, and strongly urges that it be followed up
systematically and continuously at regional, national and
European levels.

2.4.
The reception of applicants for asylum is the direct
concern of the local communities and the reception centres
located in their areas. For this reason the European Com-
mission, the European Parliament and the national parliaments
must focus their attention on the best practice found in local
and regional integration policies. Another useful contribution
to this end would be the announcement by the European
Commission of international programmes for cooperation
between local and regional bodies on the subject of best
practice in conditions and procedures for reception of asylum
seekers.

2.5.
The Committee of the Regions takes the view that the
various questions relating to asylum which form the subject of
a number of draft directives should in the near future be
examined together — because of the unity of the subject, and
the overlaps and complementary features noted.

The Committee’s detailed comments on the draft

2.6.
directive are as follows:

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2.6.1.
A number of points in the draft provide for the
possibility of asylum seekers appealing to courts (e.g. in the
case of restrictions imposed on freedom of movement —
Article 7 of the draft directive;
in the case of a financial
contribution from applicants for asylum — Article 19 of the
draft directive; and in the case of provision of health and
psychological care which is not free of charge — Article 20
and others). The Committee of the Regions regards as essen-
tially correct the planned legal protection for asylum seekers
against individual decisions of the administration, which must
of course also be fully reasoned. However, it has reservations
on the subject of the rapidity with which cases are judged by
the regular courts of each Member State. It therefore proposes
a formal provision in the text of the directive to the effect that
the courts shall judge the relevant appeals within a reasonable
period in each case. This provision will help to ensure that the
possibility of legal appeal does not become void because of a
delay in issuing the decisions — in view of the limited duration
of the applicability of material conditions of reception — and
to ensure that the uncertainty of applicants for asylum is not
prolonged, with all the accompanying problems.

2.6.2.
The independent office described in Article 18 of the
draft is empowered to hear complaints and resolve disputes
concerning the material reception conditions. The matters

Brussels, 15 November 2001.

covered by the proposal in question fall to a large extent
within the responsibilities of the regional and local authorities.
The Committee of the Regions proposes a specific provision
allocating these responsibilities to an independent body in
which the local authority could participate. Disputes concern-
ing the material reception conditions must take into account
each country’s national system. The body in question would
examine complaints independently and objectively, while
respecting the right to diversity and non-discrimination, as
provided for in Article 32 of the draft directive.

2.6.3.
The Committee of the Regions maintains that an
obligation will need to be imposed on the Member States to
supply the necessary resources to the regional authorities and
to those local government bodies which are involved in the
procedure and which from their very nature and mode of
operation are to a large extent the bodies responsible for
making possible the implementation of the national provisions
enacted to implement the draft directive in question (see
Article 31 of the draft).

The Committee of the Regions backs access for asylum
2.7.
seekers to appropriate support services which could include
training and which would help to improve their reception
conditions, and would facilitate their integration in national
society if their request for asylum is accepted.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT