Improving the exchange of information on national asylum and immigration policies

The Council today adopted a Decision on the establishment of a mutual information mechanism concerning measures Member States take in the areas of asylum and immigration. This Decision is based on a proposal from the Commission, presented on 10 October 2005 at the initiative of Commission Vice-President Frattini. It is based on the recognition that the absence of border checks in the Schengen area and the gradual development of a common EU asylum and immigration policy have increased the interdependency of national policies in these fields. This Decision creates an organised channel for information exchange on, and a discussion of, national measures Member States take in the areas of asylum and immigration.

«This mechanism » Vice-President Frattini, declared «will enhance trust among Member States and will facilitate, through mutual information, the adoption of coordinated approaches to resolving issues of mutual interest». The mechanism, based on Article 66 of the EC Treaty, requires Member States to inform the other Member States and the Commission of national measures in the areas of asylum and immigration that are likely to have a significant impact on other Member States or on the European Union as a whole.

The Community has been developing a common asylum and immigration policy since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999., Although a large number of common EU measures have already been adopted in these areas, national authorities still play an important role and, in particular in areas not yet covered by EU rules, are continuously adopting new national measures (e.g. important changes to asylum and immigration policies, the establishment of quotas, large-scale regularisation exercises and the conclusion of readmission agreements) which may have an impact on other Member States or on the European Union as a whole.

Once this mechanism comes into force at the end of October, Member States will have to transmit the information on the measures they intend to take, or have recently taken, as soon as possible and at the latest when it becomes publicly available. Such information is communicated through a web-based network run by the Commission. A particular national measure communicated through the system may lead to an exchange of views between experts from the Member States and the Commission. In addition to such technical discussions, the Commission will prepare a report each year summarising the most relevant information posted by the Member States. This report will be transmitted to the European Parliament and to the Council for discussion among Ministers on national asylum and immigration policies.

IP/06/1317

Brussels, 5 October 2006

Source : Europa