EU Wants to Permit Registered Asylum Applicants to Start Working Sooner and Improve Their Integration Prospects

According to the Parliament, the new rules come as part of the revised Reception Conditions Directive, which aims to provide similar reception standards across the Member States of the EU when it comes to health care, material conditions, and a sufficient standard of living for asylum applicants, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

In addition, the new rules will also contribute to preventing asylum applicants from moving around the bloc after their registration.

According to the EU Parliament, asylum applicants should be permitted to work not later than six months from the date of registration instead of the current nine months so that they are able to improve their chances of living independently and integrating locally.

Moreover, the same has said that in order to help the integration prospects of asylum applicants, they will also be provided access to language courses, vocational courses, or civic education courses.

The Parliament has highlighted that under the new deal on reception conditions Member States of the EU must also ensure that all unaccompanied minors are assigned a guardian no later than 15 days after they lodge an application for international protection.

Furthermore, the same stressed that unaccompanied minors must enter into the school system of the Member States two months after arriving at the latest.

The Parliament has also reached a deal on detention. The latter said that EU Member States have the right to decide that an applicant who represents a risk to public order must reside in a specific place so they do not escape.

The agreement on reception conditions was welcomed by Sophia in ‘t Veld who serves as a Member of the Parliament.

“Today’s agreement on reception conditions is a breakthrough. Not only because the co-legislators are finally advancing the work on a common European asylum system, but most importantly because this agreement should lead to tangible improvements in the lives of asylum applicants across the EU,” Veld stated.

Additionally, Veld said that it is time that Europe starts showing its human face and ensures consistent and high reception standards.

The agreed deal now needs to be approved by the Council, the plenary, and the Civil Liberties Committee before it can officially enter into force. Once the directive is approved, the Member States will have two years to substitute directive provisions on their national laws.