What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

9 unchanged paragraphs

on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast)

(COM(2016)0465 – C80323/2016 – 2016/0222(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0465),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 78(2) (f) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C80323/2016),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Italian Senate, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 December 2016,

Changed:– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of ...8 February 2017,

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts,

Changed:– having regard to the letter of ....201712 January.2017 from the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in accordance with Rule 104(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Rules 104 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A80000/2017),(A8-0186/2017),

A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance;

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

Changed:2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposalreplaces, substantially amends or replaceintends itto withsubstantially anotheramend text;its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Recital 8: deleted

Change 1

Removed:Recital 12: (12) Harmonised EU rules on the documents to be issued to applicants make it more difficult for applicants to move in an unauthorised manner within the Union. The validity of travel documents should be limited to the purpose and duration needed for the reason for which they are issued. Such a reason could for instance be that an applicant needs to travel to another State for medical treatment or to visit relatives in particular cases, such as for visits to close relatives who are seriously ill, or to attend marriages or funerals of close relatives. Other such reasons could include situations where applicants who have been granted access to the labour market are required to perform essential travel for work purposes, where applicants are required to travel as part of study curricula or where minors are travelling with foster families.

Added:Recital 10: (10) Standard conditions for the reception of applicants that will suffice to ensure them an adequate standard of living and comparable living conditions in all Member States should be laid down. The harmonisation of conditions for the reception of applicants should help to limit the secondary movements of applicants influenced by the variety of conditions for their reception.

Removed:Recital 13: (13) Applicants do not have the right to choose the Member State of application. An applicant must apply for international protection in the Member State either of first entry or, in case of legal presence, in the Member State of legal stay or residence.

Added:Recital 11: (11) In order to ensure that applicants are aware of the consequences of absconding, Member States should inform applicants in a uniform manner, at the time when the person concerned makes an application or at the latest prior to the moment of registration, of all the rights and obligations relating to reception conditions. This information should include details of the circumstances under which the granting of material reception conditions may be restricted, of any benefits, free legal assistance and representation, guarantees of specific needs, right to review or appeal against detention or decisions relating to the replacement, reduction or withdrawal of material reception conditions and of the relevant asylum procedures.

Added:Recital 12: (12) Harmonised EU rules on the documents to be issued to applicants make it more difficult for applicants to move in an unauthorised manner within the Union. The validity of travel documents should be limited to the purpose or duration needed for the reason for which they are issued. Such a reason could for instance be that an applicant needs to travel to another State for medical treatment or to visit relatives in particular cases, such as for visits to family members or other close relatives who are seriously ill, or to attend marriages or funerals of family members or other close relatives. Other reasons could include situations where applicants who have been granted access to the labour market are required to perform essential travel for work purposes, where applicants are required to travel as part of study curricula or where minors are travelling with foster families.

Added:Recital 13: (13) Applicants do not have the right to choose the Member State of application. An applicant must apply for international protection on the basis of the criteria set out in Regulation (EU) No XXX/XXX [Dublin Regulation].

Recital 14: (14) Applicants are required to remain available to the relevant authorities of the Member State where they made an application or in the Member State to which they are transferred in accordance with Regulation (EU) No XXX/XXX [Dublin Regulation]. Where an applicant has absconded and has travelled to another Member State without authorisation, it is vital, for the purpose of ensuring a well-functioning Common European Asylum System that the applicant is swiftly returned to the Member State where he or she is required to be present. Until such a transfer has taken place, there is a risk that the applicant may abscond and his or her whereabouts should therefore be closely monitored.

Recital 15: deleted

Change 2

Changed:Recital 16: (16) For reasons of public interest or public order, for the swift processing and effective monitoring of his or her application for international protection, or in order to effectively prevent the applicant from absconding where it has been established by the relevant authorities that there is a serious and imminent risk that an applicant may abscond, Member States should, where necessary, be able to assign the applicant residence in a specific place, such as an accommodation centre, a private house, flat, hotel or other premises adapted for housing applicants. Such a decision may be necessary to effectively prevent the applicant from absconding in particular in cases where the applicant has not complied with the obligations to remain in the Member State where he or she is required to be present, or, in cases where the applicant has been sent back to the Member State, where he or she is required to be present after having absconded to another Member State. Where the applicant is entitled to material reception conditions, such material reception conditions should also be provided subject to the applicant residing in this specific place.

Change 3

Changed:Recital 17: (17) Where there are specific and objective reasons for considering that there is a serious and imminent risk that an applicant may abscond, Member States should also,be onable, thewhere basisnecessary, ofproportionate aand decisionduly ofjustified after an individualised assessment carried out by a judicial authorities,authority, to require applicants to report to the competent authorities as frequently as necessary in order to monitor that the applicant does not abscond. To deter applicants from further absconding, Member States should also be able to grant material reception conditions, where the applicant is entitled to such material reception conditions, only in kind. Applicants should also be provided with the possibility ofable anto appeal against decisions requiring them to report to the competent authoritiesauthorities.

Change 4

Changed:Recital 18: (18) Any restriction on the applicant's freedom of movement should be adopted only as a measure of last resort and should be based on athe decision ofby a judicial authorities,authority, which takes into account the individual behaviour and particular situation of the person concerned, including any specialspecific reception needs of applicants and the principleprinciples of necessity and proportionality. Applicants should be duly informed of such decisions and of the consequences of non-compliance. They should also be provided with the possibility of an appeal or review against such decisions.

Change 5

Changed:Recital 19: (19) In view of the serious consequences for applicants who have absconded or who are considered to be at risk of absconding, the meaning of absconding should be definedstrictly defined, in line with standards developed by the European Union Agency for Asylum, as encompassing both a deliberate action to avoid the applicable asylum procedures and the factual circumstance of not remaining available to the relevant authorities. Irregular entry, lack of an address or documents proving the identity of an applicant should not constitute valid criteria for determining the risk of absconding.

Change 6

Changed:Recital 20: (20) The detention of applicants should be applied in accordance with the underlying principle that a person should not be held in detention for the sole reason that he or she is seeking international protection, particularly in accordance with the international legal obligations of the Member States and with Article 31 of the Geneva Convention. Applicants may be detained only under the very clearly defined exceptional circumstances laid down in this Directive and subject to the principle of necessity and proportionality with regard to both the manner and the purpose of such detention. Detention of applicants pursuant to this Directive should only be ordered in writing by judicial authorities stating the reasons on which it is based, including in the cases where the person is already detained when making the application for international protection. Any decision imposing detention should contain a reference to the consideration of the available alternatives and the reasons why they could not be applied effectively. Where an applicant is held in detention he or she should have effective access to the necessary procedural guarantees, such as judicial remedy.remedy and the right to free legal assistance and representation.

Change 7

Removed:Given that the draft report contains amendments to the newly proposed text on reporting obligations which limits the taking of relevant decisions only to judicial authorities, it is necessary to also amend the part of the text concerning the types of decision which can order detention, and for which, as the most restrictive measure of one's freedom of movement, decisions shall also, a fortiori, be taken by judicial authorities alone, otherwise the internal logic of the text would be disturbed.

Added:Recital 21: (21) Where an applicant has been assigned a specific place of residence but has not complied with this obligation, there needs to be a demonstrated, individually justified, imminent and serious risk that the applicant may abscond in order for the applicant to be detained. In all circumstances, special care must be taken to ensure that the length of the detention is proportionate and that it ends as soon as the obligation put on the applicant has been fulfilled or there are no longer reasons for believing that he or she will not fulfil this obligation. The applicant must also have been made aware of the obligation in question and of the consequences of non-compliance.

Change 8

Changed:Recital 30: (30) In applying this Directive, Member States should seek to ensure full compliance with the principles of the best interests of the child and of family unity, in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms respectively. The Member States should also ensure full compliance with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Reception conditions need to be adapted to the specific needs of minors, whether unaccompanied or within families, with due regard to their security,security and the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, in particular by means of providing child-friendly accommodation, the prevention of sexual and gender-basedto violence,their physical and emotional care and education, all provided in a manner that encourages their general development. Detention or any confinement of children, whether unaccompanied or within families, is never in their best interests and always constitutes a child´s rights violation. It should therefore be prohibited.

Change 9

Changed:Recital 31: (31) Member States should ensure that applicants receive full and free access to necessary health careservices, which should include, at least, emergency and primary care, maternity care and essential treatment of illnesses, including of serious mental disorders,disorders such as post-traumatic stress disordersdisorders, (PTSD).and access to sexual and reproductive health services. To respond to public health concerns with regard to disease prevention and safeguard the health and rights of individual applicants, applicants' access to health careservices should also include preventive sexual and reproductive health servicescare and preventive medical treatment, such as vaccinations.vaccinations, and secondary care. Member States may require medical screening for applicants on public health grounds, in accordance with guidelines to be established,developed jointly,jointly by the European Union Agency for Asylum and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The results of medical screening should not influence the assessment of applications for international protection, which should always be carried out objectively, impartially and on an individual basis in line with Regulation (EU) No XXX/XXX [Procedures Regulation].

Change 10

Changed:Recital 32: (32) Member States should in all circumstances ensure access to health care.care and an adequate standard of living for applicants. Due regard must also be given to applicants with specific reception needs. The specific needs of children, in particular with regard to respect for the child's right to education and access to healthcare have to be taken into account. The specific needs of applicants, in particular women,applicants who have experienced sexual or gender-based violenceviolence, in particular women, should be taken into account, including via ensuring access, at different stages of the asylum procedure, to medical care, legal support, and to appropriate trauma counselling and psycho-social care. Such applicants should be considered to be persons with specialspecific reception needs.

Change 11

Changed:Recital 33: (33) The scope of the definition of family member should be non-discriminatory and should reflect the reality of current migratory trends, according to which applicants often arrive to the territory of the Member States after a prolonged period of time in transit. The definition should therefore include families formed outside the country of origin, but before their arrival on the territory of the Member States. Member States should apply the definition of family member in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the scope of the definition of family,family. takingThey intoshould accounttherefore have regard to the different circumstances of dependency and the particular attention that is to be paid to the best interests of the child, underlining the importance of protecting female applicants, who are the victim of child, early or forced marriage. Unmarried couples should not be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Change 12

Changed:Recital 34: (34) In order to promote the self-sufficiency of applicants and to limit wide discrepancies between Member States, it is essential to provide clear rules on the applicants’ access to the labour market and to ensure that such access is effective, by not imposing conditionsconditions, including sector restrictions, working time restrictions or unreasonable administrative formalities, that effectively hinder an applicant from seeking employment. Member States should also take effective steps to ensure that the entry of applicants for international protection into the labour market is not achieved through a lowering of applicable salaries, which could then lead to wage dumping practices. Labour market tests used to give priority to nationals or to other Union citizens or to third-country nationals legally resident in the Member State concerned should not hinder effective access for applicants to the labour market and should be implemented without prejudice to the principle of preference for Union citizens as expressed in the relevant provisions of the applicable Acts of Accession.

Change 13

Changed:Recital 35: (35) In order to increase integration prospects and self-sufficiency of applicants, immediate access to the labour market should be provided.provided to the applicant as soon as possible and no later than two months from the date when the application for international protection was made.

Change 14

Removed:Recital 40 a (new): (40a) Language skills are indispensable in order to ensure that applicants have an adequate standard of living, that they are granted immediate access to the labour market and that their material reception conditions, including non-food items, are safeguarded. Learning the official language or one of official languages of the Member State concerned would increase self-reliance and the chance of integration in the host society, and constitutes a deterrent against secondary movements. Effective access to language courses should therefore be granted to all applicants from the date on which their application for international protection is made.

Added:Recital 39: (39) The right to freedom of association and affiliation may be limited by excluding applicants from taking part in the management of certain bodies and from holding a public office.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10: (10) ‘absconding’: means a deliberate action to avoid the applicable asylum procedures and the factual circumstance of not remaining available to the relevant authorities;

Added:Recital 40 a (new): (40a) Applicants who have been granted access to the labour market should be allowed to apply for an EU Blue Card under the relevant Union legislation. Applicants who have been granted access to the labour market should also be allowed to apply for a residence permit for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing under the relevant Union legislation.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11: (11) 'risk of absconding': means the existence of specific reasons in an individual case, which are based on objective and specific criteria in accordance with guidelines of the European Union Agency for Asylum and with national law, to believe that an applicant may abscond, not including criteria such as merely being an applicant within the meaning of Regulation (EU).../...[Procedures Regulation], or one's nationality, which are of a general nature;

Added:Recital 40 b (new): (40b) Language skills are indispensable in order to ensure that applicants have an adequate standard of living. Learning the official language or one of official languages of the Member State concerned would increase self-reliance and the chance of integration in the host society. It also constitutes a deterrent against secondary movements. Effective access to language courses should therefore be granted to all applicants from the date on which their application for international protection is made

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13: (13) ‘applicant with special reception needs’: means an applicant who is in need of special guarantees in order to benefit from the rights and comply with the obligations provided for in this Directive, such as applicants who are minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single women, adolescent girls, women-headed households, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex persons, single parents with minor children, victims of human trafficking, victims of child, early or forced marriage, non-believers, apostates and religious minorities, persons with serious illnesses, persons with mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical, bias-motivated, sexual or gender-based violence, such as victims of female genital mutilation.

Added:Recital 41: (41) To ensure that the material reception conditions provided to applicants comply with the principles set out in this Directive, it is necessary to further clarify the nature of those conditions, including not only housing, food and clothing but also essential non-food items such as sanitary items, medical devices or education material. It is also necessary that Member States determine the level of material reception conditions provided in the form of financial allowances or vouchers on the basis of relevant references to ensure adequate standards of living for nationals, such as minimum income benefits, minimum wages, minimum pensions, unemployment benefits and social assistance benefits. That does not mean that the amount granted should be the same as for nationals

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: 1. Member States shall inform applicants, as soon as possible and at the latest when they are lodging their application for international protection, of any established benefits and of the obligations with which they must comply relating to reception conditions. They shall point out, in the information provided, which reception conditions the applicants are entitled to, the consequences of absconding, the grounds for detention, the grounds for replacement, reduction or withdrawal of any reception conditions, the right to appeal against detention or decisions relating to the replacement, reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions. The Member States shall also inform the applicants about the relevant asylum procedures, and the rights granted after having been granted refugee status.

Added:Recital 42: (42) Member States should be able to provide material reception conditions only to the extent applicants do not have sufficient means to provide for themselves. When assessing the resources of an applicant and requiring an applicant to cover or contribute to the material reception conditions, Member States should observe the principle of proportionality and take into account the individual circumstances of the applicant and the need to respect his or her dignity or personal integrity, including the applicant's specific reception needs. Applicants should not be required to cover or contribute to the costs of their necessary health care. The possibility of abuse of the reception system should also be restricted by specifying the circumstances in which accommodation, food, clothing and other essential non-food items provided in the form of financial allowances or vouchers may be replaced with reception conditions provided in kind and the circumstances in which the daily allowance may be reduced or withdrawn while at the same time ensuring an adequate standard of living for all applicants.

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 is in writing in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language and a standard template which shall be developed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and in a language that the applicant understands or is reasonably supposed to understand. It shall include relevant information in relation to the personal circumstances that may result in special reception needs or needs of special procedural guarantees as provided for in this Directive and [the Procedure Regulation]. Where necessary, this information shall also be supplied orally and in a visualised form through videos or pictograms and shall be adapted to the needs of minors or persons with special reception needs.

Added:Recital 49: (49) Since the objective of this Directive, namely to establish common standards for the reception conditions of applicants in Member States, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of this Directive, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

Removed:Based on the formulation proposed in the Commission proposal on the EURODAC Regulation recast.

Added:Common minimum standards in receptions conditions are vital in discouraging secondary movements of irregular migrants.

Removed:Article 6: Member States shall provide applicants with a travel document without delay, when the presence of the applicant is required in another State, in particular for reasons such as when an applicant needs to travel to another State for medical treatment or to visit relatives in particular cases, such as for visits to close relatives who are seriously ill, or to attend marriages or funerals of close relatives. Other such reasons include situations where applicants who have been granted access to the labour market are required to perform essential travel for work purposes, where applicants are required to travel as part of study curricula or where minors are travelling with foster families. The validity of the travel document shall be limited to the purpose and duration needed for the reason for which it is issued.

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1: (1) ‘application for international protection’: means an application for international protection as defined in Article [(2)(7)] of Regulation (EU) No XXX/XXX [Qualification Regulation];

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory wording: 2. Member States may where necessary decide on the residence of an applicant in a specific place such as an accommodation centre, a private house, flat, hotel or other premises adapted for housing applicants, on the basis of objective criteria defined by national law and of a decision by judicial authorities, for any of the following reasons:

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2: (2) ‘applicant’: means an applicant as defined in Article [(2)(8)] of Regulation (EU) No XXX/XXX [Qualification Regulation];

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 - point c: deleted