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Attempted construction of Common European Asylum System could
prove meaningless,
according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
| Once again the EU's approach to tackle issues
concerning refugee and asylum seekers fails to properly
recognise that all member states have an obligation to
provide protection for persons fleeing persecution. |
| In a statement released on 13 February 2008 by ECRE,
Secretary General Bjarte Vandvik said, "Whilst Europe's
borders are ever tighter and more secure, victims of
persecution around the world are finding it ever harder
to reach a safe haven. The construction of a Common
European Asylum system will be meaningless if asylum
seekers cannot reach the EU's territory" |
Onus is on Member
States to Respect the
Universal Right to Seek Asylum
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The European Agency for the Management of
Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (FRONTEX)
was also subject to some criticism form ECRE. FRONTEX
has failed to demonstrate that its operations respect
the universal right to seek asylum and, according to
ECRE, it considers its key indicator of success to be
preventing as many people as possible from entering the
EU irregularlyThe fact stands that asylum application in
EU countries are at their lowest level for 20 years and
with fewer people getting into the EU, how many more are
dying along the way?
The EU must realise the human cost of the methods used
to keep people out and and "implement
protection-sensitive control mechanisms to uphold
Europe's human rights and obligations, says Bjarte
Vandvik.
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