Transfer of asylum-seekers and fundamental rights

The EU asylum system, and in particular the Dublin regime, has come under criticism in recent years. Member States (MS), as well as NGOs, claim that transferring asylum-seekers to the MS responsible for examining their application under the rules of the Dublin II Regulation overloads the asylum systems of some MS, resulting in violations of the asylum-seekers’ fundamental rights.

Recent rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) stress that asylum-seekers must not be transferred to MS whose asylum systems manifest systemic deficiencies. The CJEU also confirmed that MS must ensure asylum-seekers undergoing a ‘Dublin-transfer’ procedure benefit from minimum reception conditions.

The European Parliament (EP) has endeavoured to reflect the latest standards in protection for asylum-seekers in its amendments to the current proposals to update the legislation. It managed to preserve a clause on the suspension of “Dublin transfers” in the draft Dublin III Regulation, and to secure the application of the Reception Conditions Directive to asylum-seekers falling under the Dublin regime.

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