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GENERAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
JRS Europe:
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studies emerging EU law on asylum
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advocates for just asylum policies based on the dignity of the
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brings the concerns of JRS workers in developing countries to
the attention of the decision makers in the EU.
The European Union (EU) is widening and
deepening its asylum and immigration policy as
well as relevant legislation. JRS-Europe follows
the policy-making and legislative process,
analyses it and provides comments. It advocates
at relevant stages of the legislative
procedures. In Europe, 18 national JRS Offices
and Contact Persons contribute to JRS-Europe's
advocacy. At the global level, JRS-Europe
co-operates with other JRS Regional Offices and
the JRS-International Office in Rome.
Recently, the legislative decision-making
process in the EU changed considerably. Until
2004, the European Parliament,
representing the citizens of the EU, only held a
consultative role in the legislative process,
and the Council of Member States, representing
the Member States of the European Union, was the only EU
institution which had the right to adopt
legislation. Since 1 January 2005 however,
co-decision has become the rule in the fields of
asylum, immigration (except illegal immigration)
and border control issues; the Council and
the Parliament adopt EU legislation jointly.
This requires that the two EU institutions have
to agree on an identical text proposed by the
European Commission. The role of
the Commission, representing the overall
interests of the EU, remains unchanged: it has the exclusive right to propose,
among EU legislative acts, in particular EU
directives.
An EU 'directive' must be transposed into the
national law of the EU Member States as follows:
'A directive shall be binding, as to the result
to be achieved, upon each Member State to which
it is addressed, but shall leave to the national
authorities the choice of forms and methods'.
(Art. 249 Treaty of Amsterdam)
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