PURPOSE: to suspend the obligations of Sweden as a
Member State of relocation for the period of one year.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts
the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being
obliged to follow its opinion.
BACKGROUND: the considerable increase of irregular
border crossing into the EU and of secondary movements across
Europe has led to a sharp increase in Sweden of the number of
applicants for international protection, who mainly entered the EU
via Italy and Greece. Sweden has in 2015 by far the highest number
of applicants for international protection per capita in the EU (11
503 applicants per million inhabitants).
The above situation has put a very significant strain
on the Swedish asylum system, with serious practical consequences
on the ground as regards the reception conditions and ability of
the asylum system to deal with these applications.
As part of the common policy on asylum, Article
78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) provides a
specific legal basis to deal with emergency situations. Based
on a proposal by the European Commission, it enables the Council,
after consulting the European Parliament, to adopt provisional
measures for the benefit of Member State(s) confronted with an
emergency situation characterised by a sudden inflow of nationals
of third countries into one or more Member State(s).
The provisional measures envisaged by Article 78(3)
TFEU are exceptional in nature. They can only be triggered
when a certain threshold of urgency and severity of the problems
created in the Member State(s)' asylum system(s) by a sudden inflow
of third country nationals is met.
On the basis of Article 78(3) TFEU, the Council
adopted two Decisions establishing provisional measures in the area
of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece.
Under the Council
Decision (EU) 2015/1523, 1 369 persons and under the Council
Decision (EU) 2015/1601, 4 358 persons are allocated to
Sweden for relocation from Italy and Greece.
A Member State may, according to Decision 2015/1601,
notify the Commission and the Council that it is confronted with an
emergency situation characterised by a sudden inflow of
nationals of third countries due to a sharp shift of migration
flows, giving duly justified reasons.
On 8 December 2015, Sweden formally requested the
suspension of its obligations under Council Decisions (EU)
2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601.
CONTENT: in view of assisting Sweden in better coping
with this emergency situation, the proposed Decision suspends
the obligations of Sweden as a Member State of relocation under
Council Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and Council Decision (EU)
2015/1601 for the period of one year.
The suspension should be complemented, as appropriate,
by additional support measures coordinated by European Asylum
Support Office (EASO) and, where needed, other relevant
Agencies.
Sweden is still bound to relocate to its territory 1
369 persons under the Council Decision (EU) 2015/1523 and 4 358
persons under the Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 from Italy and
Greece once the present Decision has expired. It should submit to
the Council and the Commission a roadmap setting out the
measures that it will take in order to ensure the effectiveness of
its asylum and migration system and to resume its obligations under
Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601.