The objective of the Eurodac Regulation is to allow the functioning of the Dublin system by providing fingerprint evidence to assist in determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application made in the EU. The EC has proposed changes to allow fingerprinting and facial images of asylum seekers and third country nationals as young as 6 years old- the age limit was previously 14 18.
Asylum Procedures
The Asylum Procedures Directive 19 sets out common procedures for Member States for granting and withdrawing international protection, including age assessment procedures for children.
The Commission has proposed to replace the Asylum Procedures Directive with a Regulation. This proposal acknowledges the need for special guarantees for children. It also aims to strengthen guardianship systems in Member States with the mandatory appointment of a guardian no later than 5 working days from the moment an application is made by an unaccompanied child.
The Commission proposal includes provisions on age assessment of unaccompanied children. Being misidentified as an adult rather than a child when seeking international protection can have considerable implications on the level of rights and protections afforded to children by a receiving State. This ranges from being unable to access welfare services and support, to being detained. ECRE has welcomed this but urged for firmer rules that clearly restrict the use of medical examinations to a last resort measure of age assessment 20.
Obtaining international protection and the content of the protection
The Qualification Directive 21 defines the criteria for obtaining refugee status or subsidiary protection in the EU and the content of international protection. The Commission proposal for a Qualification Regulation aims at ensuring more harmonized recognition rates across the EU and introduces mandatory reviews of status and penalizes people moving on from the Member State that granted them international protection.
18 _“ Proposal for a Regulation of the European parliament and of the Council on the Establishment of ' Eurodac ' for the Comparison of Fingerprints for the Effective Application of [ Regulation( EU) No 604 / 2013 Establishing the Criteria and Mechanisms for Determining the Member State Responsible for Examining an Application for International Protection Lodged in One of the Member States by a Thirdcountry National or a Stateless Person ], for Identifying an Illegally Staying Third-country National or Stateless Person and on Requests for the Comparison with Eurodac Data by Member States ' Law Enforcement Authorities and Europol for Law Enforcement Purposes( Recast)”, European Commission, COM( 2016) 272 final, 4 May 2016, http:// eur-lex. europa. eu / legal-content / EN / TXT / PDF /? uri = CELEX: 52016PC0272 & from = EN.
19 _ Directive 2013 / 32 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on Common Procedures for Granting and Withdrawing International Protection( Recast), European Union, O. J. L 180 / 60, 26 June 2013, http:// eur-lex. europa. eu / legal-content / en / ALL /? uri = celex % 3A32013L0032.
20 _ For further information on the ongoing process to replace the current Asylum Procedures Directive with a regulation, see:
- European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing a Common Procedure for International Protection in the Union and Repealing Directive 2013 / 32 / EU”, European Commission, COM( 2016) 467 final,( 13 July 2016), https:\ ec. europa. eu \ transparency \ regdoc \ rep \ 1 \ 2016 \ EN \ 1-2016-467-EN-F1-1. PDF
- European Parliament, Draft Report on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing a Common Procedure for International Protection in the Union and Repealing Directive 2013 / 32 / EU”, European Parliament, 2016 / 0224( COD),( 12 May 2017) http:// www. europarl. europa. eu / sides / getDoc. do? type = COMPARL & reference = PE-597.506 & format = PDF & language = EN & secondRef = 01
- ECRE, Comments on the proposal for an Asylum Procedures Regulation,( 18 November 2016), https:// www. ecre. org / ecre-comments-on-the-proposal-for-an-asylum-procedures-regulation /
21 _ Directive 2011 / 95 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on Standards for the Qualification of Third-country Nationals or Stateless Persons as Beneficiaries of International Protection, for a Uniform Status for Refugees or for Persons Eligible for Subsidiary Protection, and for the Content of the Protection Granted( Recast), European Union, O. J. L 337 / 9, 13 December 2011, http:// eur-lex. europa. eu / legal-content / EN / TXT /? uri = celex % 3A32011L0095.
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