Will Europe give Asylum? 11 September 2009, Tampere, Finland Ecumenical Seminar Discussion on Asylum Ecumenical Council of Churches, Finland Doris Peschke.

Will Europe give Asylum? 11 September 2009, Tampere, Finland

Ecumenical Seminar Discussion on Asylum

Ecumenical Council of Churches, Finland

Doris PeschkeGeneral Secretary

Churches‘ Commission for Migrants in Europe

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CCME

Churches‘ Commission for Migrants in Europe is the ecumenical agency on

• Migration and Integration, • Refugees and Asylum, and • against Racism and Discrimination in

Europe

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CCME‘s Mission

CCME is the ecumenical organisation that serves the churches in their commitment to strangers, responding to the message of the Bible which insists on the dignity of every human being.

Basis for Asylum in Europe

World War IIMassive displacementEuropean Convention for Human

Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950)

UN Refugee Convention 1951/1967

EU and Asylum

Amsterdam Treaty 1999Tampere Programme on Migration

and Asylum 1999-2004Temporary Protection 2000Reception of Asylum Seekers 2003Qualification and Status of Refugees

and persons otherwise in need of protection 2004

EU and Asylum

Dublin II Regulation 2003 Eurodac 2002 Asylum Procedures 2005 Measures against irregular migration:

impact on confidence in the asylum and legal system

Externalisation of refugee protection

Cooperation with countries of origin and transit

Readmission Agreements of the EU (Morocco, Ukraine, Russia)

Refugee protection in the regions, programmes since 2005/2006Region of Great Lakes/East AfricaUkraine, Byelorussia, Moldavia

EU Border Control Agency FRONTEX

Fortress Europe?

For years, decreasing refugees and asylum seekers in Europe

Decreasing rate of recognition of grounds of asylum, restricted access to asylum procedures

Examination of the way rather than the reason for seeking asylum

Evaluation of EU asylum directives

Less refugees in most EU countries and the EU as a whole

Dublin II and Eurodac evaluation: Relative increase of cases in border countries in the South and East of the EU

Border countries do not treat all asylum claims if referred under Dublin II

Asylum Procedures Directive – EU Court of Justice, EP vs EU Council

EU initiatives against irregular migration

- Cooperation between EU and EU Member States with Third Countries on limiting migration (Liaison officers for immigration, document verification prior to departure e.g. U.K.-France, U.K.-Belgium) - > Decison on a Network of immigration liaison officers (EC/377/2004)

- Action Programme Return (2002) and financial instrument return (15 million € per annum since 2005)

- Common Border Guard Units – European border agency FRONTEX (decided in 2004, seat in Warsaw), common curricula for border guards and financial instrument for border security

- EU Directive Common Standards for Return

Churches‘ views and positions

The human being „created in the image of God“ deserves undivided dignity

„You shall treat the stranger among you as one of you“

Churches positions

fair and humane migration policy and treatment of migrants,

proper protection of refugees, fast but fair and efficient procedures looking into case details

Legal principle „in dubio pro reo“ also to be applied to refugees and migrants in irregular situation

Human policy and procedure

Refugees to have a chance to rebuild their livesClarity of statusFamily lifeLong-term residence status also for

persons who cannot return after 5 years

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