Europe’s judges overturn asylum regulation

An asylum seeker cannot be transferred to an EU state where he or she “risks having to endure degrading or inhumane treatment,” reports Die Tageszeitung. The European Court of Justice has set a precedent by ruling in favour of six refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Algeria who entered the EU via Greece, and thereafter filed for asylum in the UK and Ireland. In line with the Dublin II regulation which stipulates that asylum applications must be processed by the first European state in which a refugee arrives, the six had been returned to Greece, where the conditions for refugees arecatastrophic.

The court's verdict, which referred to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, has undermined Dublin II. Noting that in 2010 90% of illegal immigrants entered the EU via Greece, the judges took the view that “Greek authorities are not capable of managing the flow of refugees.” They further pointed out that the UK and Ireland must be aware of the risks in Greece, where refugees find themselves in an unbearable situation and have to contend with interminable delays in the processing of their applications, and should not deport them to the country.

In the wake of the judgement, from now on the state where refugees are located when detained by authorities will have to process their applications, explains TAZ, which notes that Germany is not ready to accept "a general change to the Dublin system."