Doc. 8251

28 October 1998

Restricting European Union citizens' access to asylum

Written Question No. 374 by Mr Erik Jurgens

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

I.       Written Question No. 374 (26 June 1997)

      Mr Jurgens,

      In view of Committee of Ministers Resolution (67) 14 which recommends that member governments "should act in a particularly liberal and humanitarian spirit in relation to persons who seek asylum on their territory",

      To ask the Committee of Ministers,

      Whether it considers the European Union decision, taken last week at the Amsterdam Summit, to restrict European Union citizens' access to asylum a retrograde step and indeed contrary to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees which guarantees unqualified access to asylum.

II.       Reply from the Committee of Ministers (18 October 1998)

After seeking the opinion of the CAHAR, the Committee of Ministers is now in a position to give a final reply to the question of the legal implications of the decisions taken by the European Council meeting in Amsterdam concerning European Union citizens' access to asylum, having regard to the relevant European and international conventions, in particular the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees.

Having regard to the relevant European and international conventions, in particular the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the interpretation of international treaty obligations in the field of refugee protection, established outside the Council of Europe, falls explicitly to the appropriate judicial bodies.

However, it should be noted that the Preamble of the Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty on asylum for nationals of Member States of the European Union states that it respects the finality and the objectives of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees. Furthermore, it should also be noted that the said Preamble states that, pursuant to the provisions of Article F (2) of the Treaty of the European Union, the Union shall respect fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.