Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 of 18 February 2003 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: 2003-02-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, foreign national, migration policy, right of asylum

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 343/2003

of 18 February 2003

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

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 63, first paragraph, point (1)(a),

guarantee effective access to the procedures for deter-
mining refugee status and not to compromise the objec-
tive of the rapid processing of asylum applications.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

(5)

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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

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 to
persecution, i.e. maintaining the principle of non-refou-
lement. In this respect, and without affecting the respon-
sibility criteria laid down in this Regulation, Member
States, all respecting the principle of non-refoulement,
are
third-country
nationals.

considered as

countries

safe

for

The Tampere conclusions also stated that this system
should include, in the short term, a clear and workable
method for determining the Member State responsible
for the examination of an asylum application.

Such a method should be based on objective, fair criteria
the persons
both for
concerned. It should, in particular, make it possible to
determine rapidly the Member State responsible, so as to

the Member States and for

(1) OJ C 304 E, 30.10.2001, p. 192.
(2) Opinion of 9 April 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 28.

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 the Union, 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 (4), signed in Dublin on 15 June
1990 (hereinafter referred to as the Dublin Convention),
whose implementation has stimulated the process of
harmonising asylum policies.

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
Member State responsible for examining an asylum
application.

The processing together of the asylum applications of
the members of one family by a single Member State
makes it possible to ensure that the applications are
examined thoroughly and the decisions taken in respect
of them are consistent. 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 humanitarian grounds.

internal
The progressive creation of an area without
frontiers in which free movement of persons is guaran-
teed in accordance with the Treaty establishing the
European Community and the establishment of Commu-
nity policies regarding the conditions of entry and stay
including common efforts
of third country nationals,
towards the management of external borders, makes it
necessary to strike a balance between responsibility
criteria in a spirit of solidarity.

(6)

(7)

(8)

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

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(9)

(10)

The application of this Regulation can be facilitated, and
its effectiveness
increased, by bilateral 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.

Continuity between the system for determining the
Member State responsible established by the Dublin
Convention and the system established by this Regula-
tion 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 ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of
fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin
Convention (1).

(11)

The operation of the Eurodac system, as established by
Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000 and in particular the
implementation of Articles 4 and 8 contained therein
should facilitate the implementation of this Regulation.

(12) With respect to the treatment of persons falling within
the scope of this Regulation, Member States are bound
by obligations under instruments of international law to
which they are party.

(13)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (2).

(14)

The application of the Regulation should be evaluated at
regular intervals.

(15)

(16)

The Regulation observes the fundamental rights and
principles which are acknowledged in particular in the
Charter of
the European
Union (3). In particular, it seeks to ensure full observance
of the right to asylum guaranteed by Article 18.

Fundamental Rights of

Since the objective of the proposed measure, namely the
establishment of criteria and mechanisms for deter-
mining the Member State responsible for examining an
asylum application lodged in one of the Member States
by a third-country national, cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States and, given the scale and
effects, can therefore be better achieved at Community
level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance
with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5
of
In accordance with the principle of
proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation
does not go beyond what
is necessary in order to
achieve that objective.

the Treaty.

(1) OJ L 316, 15.12.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.

(17)

(18)

(19)

In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the posi-
tion of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the
Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing
the European Community,
the United Kingdom and
Ireland gave notice, by letters of 30 October 2001, of
their wish to take part in the adoption and application
of this Regulation.

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on
the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on
European Union and to the Treaty establishing the
European Community, Denmark does not take part in
the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it
nor subject to its application.

The Dublin Convention remains in force and continues
to apply between Denmark and the Member States that
are bound by this Regulation until such time an agree-
ment allowing Denmark's participation in the Regulation
has been concluded,

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
application for asylum lodged in one of the Member States by
a third-country national.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation:

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

(b) ‘Geneva Convention’ means the Convention of 28 July
1951 relating to the status of refugees, as amended by the
New York Protocol of 31 January 1967;

(c) ‘application for asylum’ means the application made by a
third-country national which can be understood as a
request for international protection from a Member State,
under the Geneva Convention. Any application for interna-
tional protection is presumed to be an application for
asylum, unless a third-country national explicitly requests
another kind of protection that can be applied for sepa-
rately;

(d) ‘applicant’ or ‘asylum seeker’ means a third country national
who has made an application for asylum in respect of
which a final decision has not yet been taken;

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(e) ‘examination of an asylum application’ means any examina-
tion of, or decision or ruling concerning, an application for
asylum by the competent authorities in accordance with
national
for procedures for determining the
Member State responsible in accordance with this Regula-
tion;

law except

(f) ‘withdrawal of the asylum application’ means the actions by
which the applicant for asylum terminates the procedures
initiated by the submission of his application for asylum, in
accordance with national law, either explicitly or tacitly;

(g) ‘refugee’ means any third-country national qualifying for
status defined by the Geneva Convention and
the
authorised to reside as such on the territory of a Member
State;

(h) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means unmarried persons below
the age of eighteen who arrive in the territory of the
Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for
them whether by law or by custom, and for as long as they
are not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it
includes minors who are left unaccompanied after they
have entered the territory of the Member States;

(i) ‘family members’ means insofar as the family already
existed in the country of origin, the following members of
the applicant's family who are present in the territory of
the Member States:

(i) the spouse of the asylum seeker or his or her unmar-
ried partner in a stable relationship, where the legisla-
tion or practice of the Member State concerned treats
unmarried couples in a way comparable to married
couples under its law relating to aliens;

(ii) the minor children of couples referred to in point (i) or
of the applicant, on condition that they are unmarried
and dependent and regardless of whether they were
born in or out of wedlock or adopted as defined under
the national law;

(iii) the father, mother or guardian when the applicant or

refugee is a minor and unmarried;

temporary protection arrangements or until

(j) ‘residence document’ means any authorisation issued by the
authorities of a Member State authorising a third-country
national to stay in its territory,
including the documents
substantiating the authorisation to remain in 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 period
required to determine the responsible Member State as
established in this Regulation or during examination of an
application for asylum or an application for a residence
permit;

(k) ‘visa’ means the authorisation or decision of a Member
State required for transit or entry for an intended stay in
that Member State or in several Member States. The nature
of the visa shall be determined in accordance with the
following definitions:

(ii) ‘short-stay visa’ means the authorisation or decision of
a Member State required for entry for an intended stay
in that State or in several Member States for a period
whose total duration does not exceed three months;

(iii) ‘transit visa’ means the authorisation or decision of a
Member State for entry for transit through the territory
of that Member State or several Member States, except
for transit at an airport;

(iv) ‘airport transit visa’ means the authorisation or deci-
sion 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
the Member State concerned,
during a stopover or a transfer between two sections
of an international flight.

territory of

CHAPTER II

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 3

1. Member States shall examine the application of any third-
country national who applies at the border or in their territory
to any one of them for asylum. The application shall be exam-
ined by a single Member State, which shall be the one which
the criteria set out in Chapter III indicate is responsible.

2.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, each Member
State may examine an application for asylum lodged with it by
a third-country national, even if such examination is not its
responsibility under the criteria laid down in this Regulation. In
such an event, that Member State shall become the Member
State responsible within the meaning of this Regulation and
shall assume the obligations associated with that responsibility.
Where appropriate, it shall inform the Member State previously
responsible,
the Member State conducting a procedure for
determining the Member State responsible or the Member State
which has been requested to take charge of or take back the
applicant.

3.
Any Member State shall retain the right, pursuant to its
national laws, to send an asylum seeker to a third country, in
compliance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

4.
The asylum seeker shall be informed in writing in a
language that he or she may reasonably be expected to under-
its time
stand regarding the application of this Regulation,
limits and its effects.

Article 4

(i) ‘long-stay visa’ means the authorisation or decision of
a Member State required for entry for an intended stay
in that Member State of more than three months;

1.
The process of determining the Member State responsible
under this Regulation shall start as soon as an application for
asylum is first lodged with a Member State.

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An application for asylum shall be deemed to have been
2.
lodged once a form submitted by the applicant for asylum or a
report prepared by the authorities has reached the competent
authorities of the Member State concerned. Where an applica-
tion 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.

3.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the situation of a
minor who is accompanying the asylum seeker and meets the
definition of a family member set out in Article 2, point (i),
shall be indissociable from that of his parent or guardian and
shall be a matter for the Member State responsible for exam-
ining the application for asylum of that parent or guardian,
even if the minor is not individually an asylum seeker. The
same treatment shall be applied to children born after the
asylum seeker arrives in the territory of the Member States,
without the need to initiate a new procedure for taking charge
of them.

4. Where an application for asylum is lodged with the
competent authorities of a Member State by an applicant who
is in the territory of another Member State, the determination
of the Member State responsible shall be made by the Member
State in whose territory the applicant is present. 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 application for asylum was lodged.

Article 6

Where the applicant for asylum is an unaccompanied minor,
the Member State responsible for examining the application
shall be that where a member of his or her family is legally
present, provided that this is in the best interest of the minor.

In the absence of a family member, the Member State respon-
sible for examining the application shall be that where the
minor has lodged his or her application for asylum.

Article 7

Where the asylum seeker has a family member, regardless of
whether the family was previously formed in the country of
origin, who has been allowed to reside as a refugee in a
Member State, that Member State shall be responsible for exam-
ining the application for asylum, provided that the persons
concerned so desire.

Article 8

If the asylum seeker has a family member in a Member State
whose application has not yet been the subject of a first deci-
sion regarding the substance,
that Member State shall be
responsible for examining the application for asylum, provided
that the persons concerned so desire.

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

Article 9

5.
An asylum seeker who is present in another Member
State and there lodges an application for asylum after with-
drawing his application during the process of determining the
Member State responsible shall be taken back, under the condi-
tions laid down in Article 20, by the Member State with which
that application for asylum was lodged, with a view to
completing the process of determining the Member State
responsible for examining the application for asylum.

This obligation shall cease,
if the asylum seeker has in the
meantime 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.

CHAPTER III

HIERARCHY OF CRITERIA

Article 5

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

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

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 application for asylum, unless the visa was
issued when acting for or on the written authorisation of
another Member State. In such a case, the latter Member State
shall be responsible for examining the application for asylum.
Where a Member State first consults the central authority of
another Member State, in particular for security reasons, the
latter's reply to the consultation shall not constitute written
authorisation 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 application
for asylum shall be assumed by the Member States in the
following order:

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

(b) the Member State which issued the visa having the latest
expiry date where the various visas are of the same type;

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

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

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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 territory of a Member State, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
shall apply for such time as the applicant has not left the terri-
tories of the Member States.

The principle set out in paragraph 1 does not apply, if
2.
the third-country national
lodges his or her application for
asylum in another Member State, in which the need for him or
her to have a visa for entry into the territory is also waived. In
this case, the latter Member State shall be responsible for exam-
ining the application for asylum.

Where the asylum seeker is in possession of one or more resi-
dence 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 actually to enter the
territory of a Member State and where he has not left the terri-
tories of the Member States, the Member State in which the
application is lodged shall be responsible.

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 Member State issuing the residence document
or visa shall not be responsible if it can establish that a fraud
was committed after the document or visa had been issued.

Article 12

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

Article 13

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

Article 10

Article 14

1. Where it is established, on the basis of proof or circum-
stantial evidence as described in the two lists mentioned in
Article 18(3), including the data referred to in Chapter III of
Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000, that an asylum seeker has irre-
gularly crossed the border into a Member State by land, sea or
air having come from a third country, the Member State thus
entered shall be responsible for examining the application for
asylum. This responsibility shall cease 12 months after the date
on which the irregular border crossing took place.

2. When a Member State cannot or can no longer be held
responsible in accordance with paragraph 1, and where it is
established, on the basis of proof or circumstantial evidence as
described in the two lists mentioned in Article 18(3), that the
asylum seeker — who has entered the territories of the Member
States irregularly or whose circumstances of entry cannot be
established — at the time of lodging the application has been
previously living for a continuous period of at least five months
in a Member State, that Member State shall be responsible for
examining the application for asylum.

If the applicant has been living for periods of time of at least
five months in several Member States, the Member State where
this has been most recently the case shall be responsible for
examining the application.

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

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

(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.

CHAPTER IV

HUMANITARIAN CLAUSE

Article 15

Article 11

1.
If a third-country national enters into the territory of a
Member State in which the need for him or her to have a visa
is waived, that Member State shall be responsible for examining
his or her application for asylum.

1.
Any Member State, even where it is not responsible under
the criteria set out in this Regulation, may bring together
family members, as well as other dependent relatives, on huma-
nitarian grounds based in particular on family or cultural
considerations. In this case that Member State shall, at the
request of another Member State, examine the application for
asylum of the person concerned. The persons concerned must
consent.

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In cases in which the person concerned is dependent on
2.
the assistance of the other on account of pregnancy or a new-
born child, serious illness, severe handicap or old age, Member
States shall normally keep or bring together the asylum seeker
with another relative present in the territory of one of the
Member States, provided that family ties existed in the country
of origin.

The obligations specified in paragraph 1(d) and (e) shall
4.
likewise cease once the Member State responsible for exam-
ining 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.

3.
If the asylum seeker is an unaccompanied minor who has
a relative or relatives in another Member State who can take
care of him or her, Member States shall if possible unite the
minor with his or her relative or relatives, unless this is not in
the best interests of the minor.

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

The conditions and procedures for implementing this
5.
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 proce-
dure referred to in Article 27(2).

CHAPTER V

TAKING CHARGE AND TAKING BACK

Article 16

The Member State responsible for examining an applica-

1.
tion for asylum under this Regulation shall be obliged to:

(a) take charge, under the conditions laid down in Articles 17
to 19, of an asylum seeker who has lodged an application
in a different Member State;

(b) complete the examination of the application for asylum;

(c) take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 20, an
applicant whose application is under examination and who
is in the territory of another Member State without permis-
sion;

(d) take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 20, an
applicant who has withdrawn the application under exami-
nation and made an application in another Member State;

(e) take back, under the conditions laid down in Article 20, a
third-country national whose application it has rejected and
who is in the territory of another Member State without
permission.

Article 17

1. Where a Member State with which an application for
asylum 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 three months 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.

Where the request to take charge of an applicant is not made
within the period of three months, responsibility for examining
the application for asylum shall lie with the Member State in
which the application was lodged.

The requesting Member State may ask for an urgent reply
2.
in cases where the application for asylum 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/or where the asylum seeker is held in detention.

The request shall state the reasons warranting an urgent reply
and the period within which a reply is expected. This period
shall be at least one week.

3.
In both cases, the request that charge be taken by another
Member State shall be made using a standard form and
including proof or circumstantial evidence as described in the
two lists mentioned in Article 18(3) and/or relevant elements
from the asylum seeker's statement, enabling the authorities of
the requested Member State to check whether it is responsible
on the basis of the criteria laid down in this Regulation.

The rules on the preparation of and the procedures for trans-
mitting requests shall be adopted in accordance with the proce-
dure referred to in Article 27(2).

Article 18

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.

1.
The requested Member State shall make the necessary
checks, and shall give a decision on the request to take charge
of an applicant within two months of the date on which the
request was received.

3.
The obligations specified in paragraph 1 shall cease where
the third-country national has left the territory of the Member
States for at
three months, unless the third-country
national is in possession of a valid residence document issued
by the Member State responsible.

least

2.
In the procedure for determining the Member State
responsible for examining the application for asylum estab-
lished in this Regulation, elements of proof and circumstantial
evidence shall be used.

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In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
3.
27(2) two lists shall be established and periodically reviewed,
indicating the elements of proof and circumstantial evidence in
accordance with the following criteria:

(a) Proof:

(i) This refers to formal proof which determines responsi-
bility pursuant to this Regulation, as long as it is not
refuted by proof to the contrary.

(ii) The Member States

shall provide

the Committee
provided for in Article 27 with models of the different
types of administrative documents, in accordance with
the typology established in the list of formal proofs.

(b) Circumstantial evidence:

(i) This refers to indicative elements which while being
refutable may be sufficient, in certain cases, according
to the evidentiary value attributed to them.

(ii) Their evidentiary value, in relation to the responsibility
for examining the application for asylum shall be
assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The requirement of proof should not exceed what

4.
necessary for the proper application of this Regulation.

is

If there is no formal proof, the requested Member State
5.
circumstantial
responsibility if
shall acknowledge
evidence is coherent, verifiable and sufficiently detailed to
establish responsibility.

the

its

6. Where the requesting Member State has pleaded urgency,
the
in accordance with the provisions of Article 17(2),
requested Member State shall make every effort to conform to
the time limit requested. In exceptional cases, where it can be
demonstrated that
for taking
charge of an applicant is particularly complex, the requested
Member State may give the reply after the time limit requested,
but in any case within one month.
In such situations the
requested Member State must communicate its decision to
postpone a reply to the requesting Member State within the
time limit originally requested.

the examination of a request

7.
Failure to act within the two-month period mentioned in
paragraph 1 and the one-month period mentioned in para-
graph 6 shall be tantamount to accepting the request, and
entail the obligation to take charge of the person, including the
provisions for proper arrangements for arrival.

Article 19

1. Where the requested Member State accepts that it should
take charge of an applicant, the Member State in which the
application for asylum was lodged shall notify the applicant of
the decision not to examine the application, and of the obliga-
tion to transfer the applicant to the responsible Member State.

for carrying out

The decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall set out the
2.
grounds on which it is based. It shall contain details of the time
limit
if necessary,
contain information on the place and date at which the appli-
cant should appear,
if he is travelling to the Member State
responsible by his own means. This decision may be subject to
an appeal or a review. Appeal or review concerning this deci-

the transfer and shall,

the transfer
sion shall not suspend the implementation of
unless the courts or competent bodies so decide on a case by
case basis if national legislation allows for this.

3.
The transfer of the applicant from the Member State in
which the application for asylum was lodged to the Member
State responsible shall be carried out in accordance with the
national
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 that charge be taken or of the decision on an appeal
or review where there is a suspensive effect.

law of

If necessary,
the asylum seeker shall be supplied by the
requesting Member State with a laissez passer of the design
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
27(2).

inform the requesting
The Member State responsible shall
Member 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.

4. Where the transfer does not take place within the six
months' time limit, responsibility shall
lie with the Member
State in which the application for asylum was lodged. This time
limit may be extended up to a maximum of one year if the
transfer could not be carried out due to imprisonment of the
asylum seeker or up to a maximum of eighteen months if the
asylum seeker absconds.

5.
Supplementary rules on carrying out transfers may be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
27(2).

Article 20

An asylum seeker shall be taken back in accordance with

1.
Article 4(5) and Article 16(1)(c), (d) and (e) as follows:

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

(b) the Member State called upon to take back the applicant
shall be obliged to make the necessary checks and reply to
the request addressed to it as quickly as possible and under
no circumstances exceeding a period of one month from
the referral. When the request is based on data obtained
from the Eurodac system, this time limit is reduced to two
weeks;

(c) where the requested Member State does not communicate
its decision within the one month period or the two weeks
period mentioned in subparagraph (b), it shall be consid-
ered to have agreed to take back the asylum seeker;

(d) a Member 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 practi-
cally possible, and at the latest within six months of accep-
tance of
that charge be taken by another
Member State or of the decision on an appeal or review
where there is a suspensive effect;

the request

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(e) the requesting Member State shall notify the asylum seeker
of the decision concerning his being taken back by the
Member State responsible. The decision shall set out the
grounds on which it is based. It shall contain details of the
time limit on carrying out the transfer and shall, if neces-
sary, contain information on the place and date at which
the applicant should appear,
if he is travelling to the
Member State responsible by his own means. This decision
may be subject to an appeal or a review. Appeal or review
concerning this decision shall not suspend the implementa-
tion of the transfer except when the courts or competent
bodies so decide in a case-by-case basis if the national legis-
lation allows for this.

If necessary, the asylum seeker shall be supplied by the
requesting Member State with a laissez passer of the design
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 27(2).

The Member State responsible shall inform the requesting
Member 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.

2. Where the transfer does not take place within the six
months' time limit, responsibility shall
lie with the Member
State in which the application for asylum was lodged. This time
limit may be extended up to a maximum of one year if the
transfer or the examination of the application could not be
carried out due to imprisonment of the asylum seeker or up to
a maximum of eighteen months if the asylum seeker absconds.

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 27(2).

4.
Supplementary rules on carrying out transfers may be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
27(2).

CHAPTER VI

ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 21

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 application for asylum;

(b) examining the application for asylum;

(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, former name; nicknames or pseudonyms; nation-
ality, present and former; date and place of birth);

(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
including fingerprints processed in accor-

the applicant,
dance with Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000;

(d) places of residence and routes travelled;

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

(f) the place where the application was lodged;

(g) the date any previous application for asylum was lodged,
the stage

the date the present application was lodged,
reached in the proceedings and the decision taken, if any.

3.
Furthermore, provided it is necessary for the examination
of the application for asylum, 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 informa-
tion is likely to harm the essential interests of the Member State
or the protection of the liberties and fundamental rights of the
person concerned or of others. In any event, communication of
the information requested shall be subject
to the written
approval of the applicant for asylum.

4.
Any request for information shall set out the grounds on
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 requested Member State, shall state on what evidence,
including relevant information from reliable sources on the
ways and means asylum seekers enter the territories of the
Member States, or on what specific and verifiable part of the
applicant's statements it is based. It is understood that such
relevant information from reliable sources is not in itself suffi-
cient to determine the responsibility and the competence of a
Member State under this Regulation, but it may contribute to
the evaluation of other indications relating to the individual
asylum seeker.

The requested Member State shall be obliged to reply

5.
within six weeks.

The exchange of

information shall be effected at

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

examining the application for asylum;

(b) examining the application for asylum;

(c) implementing any obligation arising under this Regulation.

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The Member State which forwards the information shall
8.
ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. If it transpires that
that Member State has forwarded information which is inaccu-
rate 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.

The asylum seeker shall have the right to be informed, on

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

If he finds that this information has been processed in breach
of this Regulation or of Directive 95/46/EC of the European
Parliament and the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protec-
tion of individuals with regard to the processing of personal
data and on the free movement of such data (1), in particular
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 Member State transmitting or
receiving the information.

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

The data exchanged shall be kept

for a period not
11.
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 22

1. Member States shall notify the Commission of the autho-
rities responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising under this
Regulation and shall ensure that those authorities have the
necessary resources for carrying out their tasks and in parti-
cular for replying within the prescribed time limits to requests
for information, requests to take charge of and requests to take
back asylum seekers.

2.
Rules relating to the establishment of secure electronic
transmission channels between the authorities mentioned in
paragraph 1 for transmitting requests and ensuring that senders
automatically receive an electronic proof of delivery shall be
established in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 27(2).

Article 23

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

(a) exchanges of liaison officers;

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

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

The arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
2.
communicated to the Commission. The Commission shall
verify that the arrangements referred to in paragraph 1(b) do
not infringe this Regulation.

CHAPTER VII

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 24

1.
This Regulation shall replace the Convention determining
the State responsible for examining applications for asylum
lodged in one of the Member States of the European Commu-
nities, signed in Dublin on 15 June 1990 (Dublin Convention).

2.
However, to ensure continuity of the arrangements for
determining the Member State responsible for an application
for asylum, where an application has been lodged after the date
mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 29, 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, with the exception of
the events
mentioned in Article 10(2).

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 25

Any period of time prescribed in this Regulation shall be

1.
calculated as follows:

(a) where a period expressed in days, weeks or months is to be
calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or
an action takes place, the day during which that event
occurs or that action takes place shall not be counted as
falling within the period in question;

(b) a period expressed in weeks or months shall end with the
expiry of whichever day in the last week or month is the
same day of the week or falls on the same date as the day
during which the event or action from which the period is
to be calculated occurred or took place. If,
in a period
expressed in months, the day on which it should expire
does not occur in the last month, the period shall end with
the expiry of the last day of that month;

(c) time limits shall

include Saturdays, Sundays and official

holidays in any of the Member States concerned.

Requests and replies shall be sent using any method that

2.
provides proof of receipt.

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Article 26

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

Article 27

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.

Article 28

At the latest three years after the date mentioned in the first
paragraph of Article 29, 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.

Having submitted that report, the Commission shall report to
the European Parliament and the Council on the application of
this Regulation at the same time as it submits reports on the
implementation of the Eurodac system provided for by Article
24(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000.

Article 29

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the 20th day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

It shall apply to asylum applications lodged as from the first
day of the sixth month following its entry into force and, from
that date, it will apply to any request to take charge of or take
back asylum seekers,
irrespective of the date on which the
application was made. 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.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in
conformity with the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Done at Brussels, 18 February 2003.

For the Council

The President

N. CHRISTODOULAKIS