Prague, Nov 3 (CTK) – The Consortium of Migrants Assisting Organisations in the Czech Republic has supported the changes that the European Commission proposed in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) to unify the rules related to asylum in the European Union.
Last year, the refugee crisis revealed defects in the setting of the legal framework and EU institutions concerning asylum, the Consortium said in a written statement issued on its website on Wednesday, adding that a CEAS reform is vital.
“The creation of a common EU asylum system would be an effective answer to the question of how to introduce more rules and a shared responsibility in European asylum policy. The so-called refugee crisis actually did not hit a large majority of EU member states, and Greece, Italy and Germany cannot bear all the responsibility in migration affairs,” Organisation for Aid to Refugees (OPU) head Martin Rozumek said.
Generally, the proposed changes aim to stop refugees outside of Europe, he said.
Rozumek challenged the concept of safe countries to which the asylum seekers could be returned.
The Consortium said it is concerned about the inclusion of some states in the list of safe countries, although these countries do not seem to be absolutely safe.
It said unsuccessful asylum seekers may address the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which might decide that a given country is not safe for the rejected refugee. But the refugees who appeal the rejection of their asylum request have to return to the safe country anyway.
The EC has also been considering the redistribution of asylum seekers from the EU countries carrying the heaviest burden to other member states, but the Czech Republic and some other Eastern European countries reject such refugee quotas.
Slovakia said it would present its own proposal soon, probably based on the principle of “flexible solidarity,” allowing each country to decide on its own how it would contribute.
