European politicians have agreed on a reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) that they have been working on since 2015. Danish Refugee Council has followed the reform process to understand the impact it will have on asylum seekers - both in Denmark and Europe.
EU's Pact on migration and asylum - the reform of the Common European Asylum System
Despite the Danish legal reservations on EU asylum law, Denmark has joined parts of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), such as the Dublin Regulation and the Eurodac Regulation. Due to Danish participation in the Schengen cooperation, Denmark is also bound by the Return Directive.
The CEAS was established in 1999 to ensure common standards for the reception of asylum seekers and co-operation between the EU Member States. The rules have been amended several times, most recently with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum (EU Pact), which was finally adopted by the Member States in May 2024.
The EU Pact must be operationalized in all EU Member States from June 2026. To assist the Member States’ implementation, the European Commission has published a common implementation plan and the Member States can also get help from the EU Asylum Agency.
Will the EU Pact be implemented in Denmark?
As a continuation of the current parallel agreements, Denmark has decided to join:
The Eurodac regulation
The regulation on asylum and migration management (AMMR) that replaces the Dublin III Regulation
The regulation on crisis and force majeure
Due to the Schengen cooperation, Denmark must decide whether to join:
The new regulation on the screening procedure
The new regulation on the return procedure at the border
The Danish authorities are drafting a national implementation plan for the EU Pact that must be finalized in December 2024.
What is DRC's view on the EU Pact?
DRC has followed the reform of the Common European Asylum System, and we are concerned that the EU Pact will limit the rights of asylum seekers.
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum (hereafter EU Pact) is a reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) that regulates how asylum seekers should be received and treated upon arrival in the EU.
The European Parliament and the Council of the EU adopted the EU Pact in respectively April and May 2024. The reform should be operationalized in the EU Member States from June 2026. The European Commission is supporting the Member States in developing national implementation plans.
The EU Pact consists of the following legislative texts:
Eurodac Regulation: Revision of the EU fingerprinting database to include more information and biometric data on asylum seekers.
Screening Regulation: New screening procedure for screening of people, who have arrived irregularly in the EU.
Asylum Procedures Regulation: Revision of the rules on processing applications for international protection that introduces mandatory border and admissibility procedures.
Return Border Procedure Regulation: New procedure for return of asylum seekers, who have been rejected in the asylum border procedure.
Asylum and Migration Management Regulation: Both a revision of the responsibility rules used to decide which member state is responsible for examining an asylum application (replacement of the Dublin III Regulation) and a new solidarity mechanism.
Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation: New rules on how the EU Member States should manage situations of crisis, including mass arrivals and cases of so-called “instrumentalisation of migrants”, as well as situations of force majeure.
Reception Conditions Directive: Revision of the reception standards and rules regarding detention for asylum seekers.
Qualification Regulation: Revision of the standards for recognition of refugee or subsidiary protection status, including rights granted.
EU Resettlement Framework: New framework on member states ambitions on voluntary resettlement and humanitarian admission.
EU Asylum Agency: Expanded mandate for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) that is replaced by the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA).
The external dimension of the EU Pact
The legislative reform is accompanied by an external dimension of the EU's asylum and migration policy, especially aimed at strengthening the EU's cooperation with third countries on asylum and migration.
The AMMR describes the necessity of "a comprehensive approach to asylum and migration management which brings together internal and external components" to ensure mutual trust between the EU Member States.
The list of external measures that Member States can take to contribute to the comprehensive approach includes both the promotion of legal migration to the EU and addressing root causes to forced displacement, but also enhancing returns, as well as providing support to third countries in relation to management of asylum, migration, and borders.
Reforming the EU responsibility rules
DRC provides legal aid and representation to asylum seekers in the Dublin procedure in Denmark. During the negotiations on the EU Pact, we have thus had a special focus on the reform of the Dublin Regulation. The rules in the Dublin Regulation about which Member State being responsible for the examination of an asylum application is being replaced by the regulation on asylum and migration management (AMMR).
DRC’s key recommendations on the Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management:
Family should be kept together: To ensure the right to family life, the definition of asylum seekers’ family members should be expanded to be based on actual family ties and include members of households in the home country, such as parents and their adult children, as well as all unmarried couples in stable relationships, including same sex partners.
No sanctions for onward movement: Rather than sanctioning asylum seekers for onward movement identified drivers, such as the wish to reunite with family or undignified living conditions, should be addressed.
Primacy to the best interests of the child: Unless unaccompanied minor asylum seekers have family in the Member States with whom they want to reunite, the children’s asylum applications should be examined the Member State, where they are present.
Access to effective remedies: Asylum seekers have the right to effective remedies and should thus have access to appeal all parts of the Dublin decision.
DRC's recommendations on the reform of the Dublin system
DRC's recommendations on the RAMM
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How does Danish asylum policy impact EU asylum law?
For many years, the aim of several Danish governments has been to limit the possibility to apply for asylum and get protection as a refugee in Denmark, so-called externalisation of asylum processing and refugee protection.
Despite the legal reservation to EU law in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, Denmark participates in the discussions on EU asylum and migration law. Together with other EU Member States, the current Danish government aims to establish a reception centre for asylum seekers outside Europe.
The Danish scheme on reception centres in third countries
In June 2021, a majority of the Danish Parliament agreed to change the Danish Aliens Act to allow for the transfer of asylum seekers to a country outside the EU. People transferred to the third country should have their asylum claims examined there and get to stay, if they were recognized as refugees.
So far, no asylum seeker has been transferred from Denmark to a reception centre in a third country. For the legal change to be implemented, Denmark must sign a binding agreement with a third country and that has yet to happen.
Analysis: Evading responsibility for refugee protection
