Written by Anja Radjenovic (3rd edition, updated on 29/3/2019),

Reception of asylum-seekers – recast Directive
© Lydia Geissler / Fotolia

States must treat asylum-seekers and refugees according to the appropriate standards laid down in human rights and refugee law. The current migration crisis revealed wide divergences in the level of reception conditions provided by Member States. While some are facing problems in ensuring adequate and dignified treatment of applicants, in others the standards of reception provided are more generous. This has led to secondary movements of asylum-seekers and refugees, and has put pressure on certain Member States.

The aim of the proposed recast directive, which would replace the current Reception Conditions Directive, is to ensure greater harmonisation of reception standards and more equal treatment of asylum-seekers across all Member States, as well as to avoid ‘asylum shopping’ whereby asylum-seekers choose the Member State with the highest protection standards for their application. Although the co-legislators reached provisional agreement on the proposal in trilogue, Coreper was not able to confirm the Council’s support for that text and trilogue negotiations have yet to restart.

Interactive PDF

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast)
Committee responsible: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)

COM(2016) 465
of 13.7.2016

2016/222(COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’)
Rapporteur: Sophia in ‘t Veld (ALDE, the Netherlands)
Shadow rapporteurs:

 

 

 

 

 

 Salvatore Domenico Pogliese (EPP, Italy)

Kati Piri (S&D, the Netherlands)

Jussi Halla-Aho (ECR, Finland)

Cornelia Ernst (GUE/NGL, Germany)

Bodil Valero (Greens/EFA, Sweden)

Gilles Lebreton (ENF, France)
Next steps expected: Relaunch of trilogue negotiations

EU Legislation in progress

Visit the European Parliament page on ‘Improving the Common European Asylum System‘.