On Thursday 13 January, EC Vice-President Schinas and Commissioner Johansson will explain to MEPs the plans to temporarily adapt asylum rules at the EU-Belarus borders.
In a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee, representatives of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), UNHCR and the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) will also present their views.
When : Thursday 13 January 2022, 09:10 – 10:30
Where: SPAAK building, room 1A2, and per videoconference.
The European Commission proposed on 1 December 2021 to modify the asylum, return and reception rules at the EU borders with Belarus for a period of six months. Under the temporary arrangement, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania would be able to extend the deadline to register applications for international protection; the border asylum procedure would apply to almost all applicants and could take up to 16 weeks, and return procedures would be faster. The proposal came in response to a European Council’s request to tackle hybrid threats organized by the Belarus regime.
In a recent plenary debate (part 1 and part 2), MEPs already expressed concerns over the approach chosen by the Commission and the risks to the effective right to asylum in the EU.
Follow the discussion live from 9:10 on here.
Background
The proposal for the Council decision is based on Article 78(3) and is of exceptional and temporary nature. It should be adopted by the Council after consulting the European parliament.
In addition, on 14 December Commission proposed a regulation addressing situations of instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum, which aims to tackle in a structural manner any future situations of instrumentalisation at external EU borders and includes measures similar to those proposed in the temporary legislation to deal with the situation in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. These new rules have to be adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure, where the European parliament acts as co-legislator.
Further information
- Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
- Fundamental Rights Agency: Migration bulletin for December 2021
- European Council of Refugees and Exiles : written comments on the Article 78(3) proposal
- UNHCR recommendations to the French and Czech Presidencies of the Council of the EU (2022)
- Procedure file : 2021/0401(CNS) (Article 78(3) emergency measures)
- Procedure file : 2021/0427(COD) (Instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum)
- EPRS briefing : Emergency measures on migration: Article 78(3) TFEU (December 2021)