EU Asylum and
Immigration Policy (3)
Tools
for integration: Harmonising reception conditions
Contents:
•
Introduction
•
European
Harmonisation of Reception Conditions
•
What
Can You Do?
•
Other Papers in this Series
Introduction
‘Reception
conditions’ refer to accommodation, social assistance, access
to legal counselling and information, access to health care, access
to the labour market, access to education, special services and provisions
for minors, and social contact with the local population.
In
Europe the costs and standards of accommodation and social assistance
offered to asylum seekers vary widely. Some countries provide the
same level of social care to asylum seekers as they offer to their
own citizens in need. In others the level of provision is reduced,
and yet others place time limits on the provision of services and
goods to asylum seekers. Some European countries exclude assistance
if another country might be held responsible for an asylum application
(see Briefing Paper 2 on how the responsible country
is defined).
Governments
have been concerned about these national differences because of
fears that asylum seekers were ‘shopping’ for the best
package, rather than seeking refuge in the first safe country. Since
1996 the national governments have been trying to cooperate on reception
conditions, but major disagreements have plagued the debates. In
many countries, the rise of the far Right and popular tension about
the services delivered to asylum seekers have led directly or indirectly
to a sick competition between the Member States to reduce reception
conditions.
As
the European Council for Refugees and Exiles notes ‘the
reception phase is an integral part of the integration process of
refugees and asylum seekers into their host countries. Therefore
the quality of reception conditions during the examination of asylum
claims is key to the facilitation of their integration’
(Broken Promises, Forgotten Principles: June 2004).
The
net result is that in Europe asylum seekers are often completely
cut off from any kind of public assistance and are denied help with
the most basic needs: shelter, food and health care. Many asylum
seekers are unable to support themselves, at least initially, because
they have been forced to spend their only resources on fleeing from
persecution or torture. Therefore, they may become destitute, homeless,
prone to illness and dependent on the good will and support of voluntary
or religious organisations.
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European
Harmonisation of Reception Conditions
Ideally
and morally, the creation of European minimum reception conditions
should be in line with the existing best practice identifiable in
Europe. Rights and services enjoyed should be clearly and objectively
defined, rather than open to the discretion of officials. Moreover,
these standards should apply to those covered by temporary protection
or subsidiary protection. In
April 2001, the European Commission proposed a Directive defining
the minimum standards on the reception of asylum applicants in the
EU (1). It required that Member States ensure a
dignified standard of living to all asylum seekers, paying specific
attention to those with special needs or who are detained. This
Directive was adopted in January 2003 (Directive 2003/9/EC), and
was due to be implemented nationally by 6 February 2005.
The
Directive includes provisions on:
-
Information: the obligation to give timely information on the
services available to asylum seekers (up to a max.15 days after
the application lodged),
-
Right to freedom of movement: the Directive allows Member States
to restrict the free movement of an asylum seeker to a specific
area or place (detention centres), even making the provision of
services linked to a specific location. This reflects the adoption
of systems of forced or voluntary dispersal in many Member States.
In a number of countries, including Germany, asylum seekers who
leave their designated location (which may be limited to 15 square
kilometres) effectively lose all rights and are illegalised.
-
Families: Member States must try to keep families together, especially
in housing.
-
Education for children: Member States are obliged to provide schooling
to minors on the same basis as their own citizens, although schooling
can be provided within accommodation centres, which does not allow
the children and young people to fully integrate.
-
Employment: Member States are given the right to define how long
asylum seekers should be excluded from the labour market. They
should provide for the situation that an asylum seeker still waiting
to hear the result of their initial claim after one year could
enter the labour market. To pursue labour market policies, Member
States are at all times allowed to discriminate in favour of their
own nationals, EU/EEA (European Economic Area) nationals and legally
resident third- country nationals to pursue labour market policies.
This will potentially lead to more social exclusion of refugees
in the long run.
-
Material aid: Member States are required to ensure that asylum
seekers have adequate resources for subsistence and a standard
of living which do not jeopardise their health. Implementation
of this will improve the current situation in a number of countries,
including France and Greece.
Member States can calculate asylum seekers’ needs on the
basis of means-tested benefits and can require reimbursement of
reception costs if they so desire. Any material aid can be delivered
in kind (e.g. food vouchers) at the Member States’ discretion.
-
Health care: asylum seekers have the right to necessary health
care and, at least, emergency care and treatment.
-
Children and unaccompanied minors: the best interests of children
are upheld. The Directive sets out the specific measures necessary
to housing, family tracing and representation of unaccompanied
minors.
Refugee
lawyers have welcomed these minimum standards. Their main criticism
being that the Directive provides a framework but does not promote
the integration of asylum seekers and thus, refugees, into their
host countries.
All
these conditions can be withdrawn on a number of grounds. For instance,
if an asylum seeker leaves the designated place they have been allocated
without permission, whether permanently or temporarily, then the
conditions can be reduced or withdrawn. Another example already
exists in some countries, e.g. in the UK, reception conditions can
be withdrawn or refused if an asylum application is not made at
the earliest opportunity (as defined by immigration officials).
In the UK, this provision has dramatically increased the numbers
of asylum seekers destitute or homeless. However, importantly, the
Directive provides a right to appeal decisions to withdraw reception
conditions.
Moreover,
the situation is bleaker for those granted subsidiary protection
(see Briefing Paper 1). With subsidiary protection,
rights can be reduced down to a tight core, limiting social assistance,
health care and education, denying labour market access and integration
programmes. This group could potentially become at risk from exclusion
and poverty and be at the mercy of illegal gang-masters and the
black economy.
Importantly,
Member States are encouraged to maintain better or more favourable
conditions. However, traditionally in EU law a so-called ‘non-regression’
clause is included in Directives. This means that if a country’s
existing system provides more or a higher level of protection/service
than the common EU standards, that country is prohibited from reducing
its national standards to the EU base line. This clause is missing
from all the EU asylum harmonisation legislation.
There
are core principles to be defended in this area. In terms of detention,
asylum seekers should enjoy the right to free movement. Asylum seekers
are not criminals so detention should only be used in limited circumstances.
Open reception centres are preferable as they allow social contact
with the local community. Moreover, education should be provided
in schools not reception/detention centres.
(1) Directive
on minimum standards on the reception of applicants for asylum in
the Member States (with particular attention to the situation of
children), COM(2001)181 final.
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What
Can You Do?
It is
crucial that in the process of implementation of these Directives,
national parliaments and governments be monitored and reminded of
their human rights obligations towards asylum seekers. Who
to contact?
- Your
national members of parliament
-
National refugee organisations and NGOs – get involved!
For
more information:
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Other
Papers in this Series
(1)
Recognising peoples’ rights: Qualifying for Refugee Status HTML
PDF (58KB)
(2)
A race to the bottom: Harmonisation of where and how asylum applications
are dealt with HTML
PDF (80KB)
(4)
Undocumented migrants: Halting the traffic of human beings while
protecting fundamental rights
HTML PDF
(63KB)
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