International protection: standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons and the content of the protection granted. Recast

The presidency informed the Council about the state-of-play of the directive on the qualification as beneficiary of international protection and the content of entitlements connected to such qualification. After the European Parliament adopted new rules, the only outstanding step is formal adoption by the Council. This is expected to happen before the end of 2011.

The new rules will simplify decision-making during asylum procedures and lead to more robust decisions at first instance, thus improving the efficiency of the asylum process and preventing abuse. They will also enhance effective access to rights taking into account specific integration challenges of beneficiaries of international protection and approximate rights and benefits of refugees and of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Finally, the amendments ensure coherence with the developing jurisprudences of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Once adopted, the directive needs to be transposed into national law within two years after its entry into force. It will be the first in a package of five legal instruments to be adopted for the creation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) by end 2012, a date confirmed by the European Council in June 2011.

The other proposals concern:

• the Dublin Regulation,
• the Eurodac Regulation,
• the Reception Conditions Directive
• the Asylum Procedures Directive.