Interior minister: Estonia supports Dublin Regulation for asylum seekers
One of the topics to be discussed at a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union will be the reform of the common European asylum system. Minister of the Interior Mart Helme (EKRE) said Estonia supports adhering to the present principle of the Dublin Regulation.
The main topics of today's (December 2) meeting will be the EU's migration and asylum policy and the future of EU internal security, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of the Interior said.
Priorities in EU internal affairs over the coming few years will also be discussed with the representatives of the new European Commission.
Mart Helme said: "One of the topics to be discussed at the meeting is the reform of the common European asylum system, with regard to which a compromise has yet to be reached."
He added the goal of the EU's asylum reform, which was prompted by the migration crisis that began in 2015, was to harmonize and improve procedural requirements in the EU relating to the granting of international protection and the guarantees for applicants and recipients thereof.
The reform also seeks to better allocate asylum applications among member states and prevent applicants' secondary movements, he said.
"Estonia's positions in international relations have remained unchanged and we support adhering to the present principle of the Dublin Regulation without the mandatory allocation of irregular immigrants," Helme said.
"What is being held in Brussels today [Monday] are follow-up discussions, and no important decisions will be made."
The implementation of the interoperability regulation and the European Border and Coast Guard regulation was also discussed at the meeting.
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Editor: Helen Wright