Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

the interpretation of the exclusion clauses. The resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, and resolutions combating terrorism are also relevant. Like the ECHR and the Refugee Convention, the principles of these international treaties should be respected in the application of asylum acquis not only at the EU level but also to the degree to which they are relevant to the application of the national law of Member States. Treaty on European Union (TEU) Apart from the general provisions of Articles 2 and 3 which enshrine the principal values of the EU and its Member States, the provisions of Article 6 TEU are those of greatest relevance to the CEAS as they clarify the scope of application of the EU Charter and its relation to ECHR. Article 6 1. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adapted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties. The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties. The rights, freedoms and principles in the Charter shall be interpreted in accordance with the general provisions in Title VII of the Charter governing its interpretation and application and with due regard to the explanations referred to in the Charter, that set out the sources of those provisions. 2. The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Such accession shall not affect the Union’s competences as defined in the Treaties. 3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union’s law. EU Charter The EU Charter was incorporated into EU primary law by the Lisbon Treaty. Thus, the Charter is the EU’s ‘Bill of Rights’ and has made a significant contribution to improving the EU system of fundamental rights protection. Some of the provisions of the EU Charter, esp. Article 18 and Article 19, directly refer to the right of international protection. Article 18 of the EU Charter explicitly guarantees the right to asylum with “due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention.” According to this provision the right to asylum is guaranteed in accordance with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This wording reflects the principle of conferral and the fact that the EU competencies in the area of asylum, as defined in the Treaties, are shared with the Member States.

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