Stricter EU Asylum Rules Take Effect, Introducing Faster Border Procedures

Background: Years of Negotiation

Under existing responsibility rules, the EU country where a protection seeker is first registered is generally responsible for the asylum procedure. The new rules are intended to prevent what officials call secondary migration, meaning asylum seekers moving from one EU country such as Greece or Italy to another such as Germany. In practice, however, Italy and Greece have in many cases refused to take back protection seekers who had already moved on to Germany, and deadlines for transfers back to other countries have expired, meaning Germany has had to take over responsibility for many of these procedures.

A Solidarity Mechanism for Burden-Sharing

The reformed CEAS also includes a solidarity mechanism to support member states with high arrival numbers. The mechanism can take the form of financial contributions, in-kind contributions, or the acceptance of asylum seekers. Germany does not have to contribute to a previously negotiated solidarity pool for the current year because the many asylum seekers for whom other countries would have been responsible are being counted toward Germany. A similar rule applies to France regarding contributions to the solidarity pool.

How Germany Will Apply the Rules

In Germany, which has only internal EU borders because it lies in the middle of Europe, border procedures will apply only to arrivals by plane or ship. They will be carried out at the international airports in Munich and Frankfurt am Main. A new external border facility at Berlin Brandenburg Airport is to begin operations on the day of the report: "Am Flughafen Berlin-Brandenburg wird heute eine neue Außengrenzeinrichtung ihren Betrieb aufnehmen." A total of 374 places are planned in the corresponding accommodation facilities for border procedures in Germany, some of which are still under construction. Further facilities in other German federal states are in planning.

During the border procedure, applicants may not be allowed to leave special reception centres, which have been set up particularly by EU countries on the external border: "Sie müssen in dieser Zeit damit rechnen, spezielle Aufnahmezentren nicht verlassen zu dürfen, die insbesondere die EU-Länder an der Außengrenze eingerichtet haben." The accelerated border asylum procedure has a maximum duration of twelve weeks, after which unsuccessful applicants are to be deported more quickly under the new framework. The reform is also expected to enable more consistent deportations across the bloc, a longstanding demand of several member states.

Officials hope the combined effect of faster procedures, the solidarity mechanism, and stricter return rules will restore confidence in a system that has been under strain since 2015. The European Commission has framed CEAS as a tool to balance responsibility-sharing with faster decision-making. How the new rules play out in practice, particularly in frontline states such as Greece and Italy, is likely to determine whether the reform achieves its stated goals in the coming months.