Greater convergence of asylum practices is needed to achieve a Common European Asylum System
On 18 March 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS) and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) co-organized a conference during which participants reiterated the need for greater convergence between Member States to achieve a fair and efficient asylum system.
The objective to achieve convergence of asylum practices, which is inherent in the very concept of a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), has been reaffirmed several times at the highest level. Already in its conclusions of 26 and 27 June 2014, the European Council called for uniform conditions ensuring that applicants for international protection enjoy the same procedural guarantees and protection throughout the Union, through the uniform application of the acquis and the "convergence of practices". However, differences in asylum practices persist and measures must be put in place to reduce these divergences which undermine the CEAS.
In this context, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the CGRS, and the EUAA co-organized on 18 March a conference entitled "Convergence in Asylum Decision-Taking - Taking stock and charting paths". The conference brought together representatives of the national authorities of Member States and associated countries, members of the network of Courts and Tribunals, the EUAA, the European Commission and the UNHCR.
Based on the pilot study on convergence that was finalised by the EUAA in 2023 and that offers a better insight into convergence and the reasons for the remaining variations in recognition rates within the EU, the participants addressed different areas likely to promote greater convergence in asylum matters, namely the role of the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), the role of objective information, directives and tools concerning country of origin, as well as the role of training and professional development.
After small group discussions led by members of the CGRS and the EUAA, participants agreed that the next steps should include the adoption and operationalization of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the promotion and use of EUAA tools and taking into account CJEU judgments in training and decision-making. For each area, they identified potential actions and practical steps that different stakeholders could take to make convergence feasible. They also concluded that to achieve this, the exchange of good practices and the need to invest in particular in training and professionalization were very important.
For further information on this conference, send an email to CGRA-CGVS.Communication@ibz.fgov.be.