1.1.2 Introduction to the Common European Asylum System: definition; historical background

The year 1999 marks the beginning of the creation of common standards on asylum for European Union (EU) member States, which form the “Common European Asylum System” (CEAS). In fact, in that year, in the awake of the Balkans conflicts, the European Council, meeting in Tampere (15-16 October 1999), decided the establishment of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The Presidency Conclusions, which constitute the Tampere programme, include an important agreement “to work towards establishing a Common European Asylum System, based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention”. The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is composed by several legislative instruments, which will be further analysed below. The first instruments were adopted between 1999 and 2005. Since then, the CEAS has been reformed, and, currently, a “New Pact on Migration and Asylum” is under discussion.
The increase in the number of asylum seekers in the EU, especially in 2015, put considerable pressure on EU asylum systems, particularly in the national asylum systems of Italy and Greece. For this reason, the EU decided to create a specific solidarity-and-responsibility-sharing programme, namely the EU relocation programme, which allowed the transfer of applicants of international protection from Italy and Greece to other EU member States, to Switzerland and to Norway. The EU relocation programme ended in 2017 and was the centre of much debate at EU and national levels.
Distinct from relocation is resettlement. Resettlement, according to UNHCR, refers to the “selection and transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State that has agreed to admit them ‐as refugees‐ with permanent residence status”. Resettlement is one of the three, according to the UNHCR, durable solutions available to refugees, and refers to the transfer of refugees from a first country of asylum.
At EU level, a series of resettlement and humanitarian admission programmes are being applied. The first European Resettlement Scheme was first introduced in July 2015. Also, EU member States continued to implement national resettlement programmes.

Online Resources

- Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Relocation of asylum seekers in Europe - A view from receiving countries
- This AIDA briefing aims to contribute to a better understanding and assessment of relocation through an analysis of the practice of receiving countries.
- European Council, Council Decision (EU) 2015/1523 of 14 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and of Greece
- This Council Decision is one of the decisions which established the EU relocation scheme.
- European Council, Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 of 22 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece (consolidated text)
- This Council Decision is one of the decisions which established the EU relocation scheme.
- European Commission, European Solidarity: A Refugee Relocation System
- This European Commission document provides background information on the EU relocation programme.
- UNHCR, UNHCR Resettlement Handbook and Country Chapters
- This Handbook offers resettlement management and policy guidance to UNHCR staff, and is a key reference tool for resettlement states and NGOs on global resettlement policy and practice.
- UNHCR, UNHCR Recommendations to the European Union: Resettlement Needs and Key Priorities for 2021
- These UNHCR Recommendations are directed to the European Union and focus on resettlement.