Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

• clear determination of the state responsible for the examination of an asylum application, • common standards for a fair and efficient asylum procedure, • common minimum conditions of reception of asylum seekers, and • the harmonization of rules on the recognition and content of the refugee status. The legal framework of CEAS 6 The European Union has been working on the CEAS and its improvement since 1999. At the moment the CEAS is based on the primary law provisions (TFEU and TEU), human rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, relevant international treaties, and EU secondary legislation which contains namely the following directives and regulations: • The revised Dublin Regulation • The revised EURODAC Regulation • The revised Qualification Directive • The revised Asylum Procedures Directive • The revised Reception Conditions Directive From the human rights perspective, it is important to stress that the CEAS legal framework is interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and by national courts not only in the light of EU acquis but also in the light of contemporary humanitarian law. Treaty on Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) The Common European Asylum System forms a part of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice in the TFEU. In this chapter, particular attention is paid to respect for “fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States.” (See Chapter I, General Provisions, Article 67 TFEU.) According to the division of competencies between the EU and the Member states (Article 4 of the TEU) the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice is defined as the shared competence. Article 67(2) of theTFEU is the legal bases for the EU competence to “ensure the absence of internal border controls for persons” and “frame a common policy on asylum, immigration and external border control, based on solidarity between Member States, which is fair towards third- country nationals.” As this is the area of shared competence, the EUMember States are able to legislate and exercise their competence where the EU does not exercise, or has decided not to exercise, its own competence. Moreover, these general provisions do not affect Member States responsibility for law and order and safeguarding internal security (Article 77 TFEU). This, of course, affect the scope of CJEU jurisdiction in the human rights area, as the EU Charter applies to the Member States only when implementing EU law (see below).

The specific legal basis for EU asylum law is now contained in Chapter 2 TFEU in Article 78, with Articles 77 and 79-80 providing the legal basis for related areas.

6 Reference should be made at this place to the Protocols relating to the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaties, and to Denmark, to determine the extent to which those Member States implement Union law in this area.

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