European Parliament moves to speed up asylum decisions

European Parliament moves to speed up asylum decisions

The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament has for the first time approved streamlined regulations for granting international protection. The main elements of the proposal are a six-month limit on assessing international protection requests, less bureaucracy for countries accessed first by migrants and greater guarantees for those requesting asylum.

The regulation got 36 votes in favor and 12 against.

Rapporteur calls it a “historic achievement”

”This is a historic achievement for Italy, where the lengthy and uncertain time — as long as 18 months — to receive a ruling on asylum requests led to the creation of Mafia Capitale and the ‘business of immigration,”’ said Laura Ferrara, an MEP from the Italian Five Star Movement (M5S) and rapporteur of the measure.

Mafia Capitale was a case launched in December 2014 that led to the conviction of 41 people, including former politicians and local officials, for participating in a massive criminal enterprise to skim money from public contracts in Rome.

”With these reforms,” Ferrara said, ”the time is shortened, bureaucracy is streamlined and the right balance is ensured between the need to guarantee international protection to those with the right to it and a rapid and effective procedure.”

Bill will need further approvals 

Ferrara underscored that ”one of our political aims was to cut the umbilical cord connecting organized crime with the management of migrant reception centers. This has been achieved.Since after the approval process, the regulation will be directly applicable in member states and will abrogate the previous procedure directive and related national implementation laws. Moreover, quicker procedures will lead to a cut in the growing costs that the Italian state is dealing with for reception centers.”

The regulation proposal will now have to be approved by the European Parliament and then by the Council of the European Union. This will happen while agreement is being sought between member states on the Dublin Rules reform that concerns mechanisms on the basis of which to determine which country will be tasked with examining and possibly accepting asylum requests.

, http://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/8925/european-parliament-moves-to-speed-up-asylum-decisions

http://asylumireland.ml/european-parliament-moves-to-speed-up-asylum-decisions/