Introduction

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Border Procedures for Asylum Applications in EU+ Countries

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1. Introduction

Repeated calls to organise fast and efficient procedures for international protection have been made

within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), often with a focus on the external borders of

the European Union (EU). As a possible solution, a more extensive use of border procedures has been

put forward to efficiently process applicants for international protection directly upon arrival.

Currently at the level of national legislation, EU Member States do not have a uniform way of shaping

the border procedure provided by the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). As a result, national

border procedures are not necessarily comparable nor applied in similar cases.

In this context, this report gathers relevant information on border procedures to inform discussions

on the topic. As Eá“Oà à à focuses on organising, coordinating and promoting the

exchange of information across asylum authorities in Member States and between the Commission

and Member States, rather than monitoring and evaluating the implementation of asylum

procedures in practice, the report concentrates primarily on explaining the current legislative border

procedures in EU+ countries, touching to a lesser extent on their implementation on the ground.

The report explains the framework provided by the recast APD (Directive 2013/32/EU) for this type

of asylum procedure1 and provides an overview of selected aspects of border procedures in

EU+ countries,2 focusing on:

 The scope of the procedure (admissibility, status determination);

 Countries that apply/do not apply border procedures;

 The steps in the application of the procedure;

 Time limits to issue a decision;

 Possible outcomes;

 Appeals;

 Safeguards provided to asylum applicants; and

 Available data on border procedures.

The latest developments in border procedures at the national level in EU+ countries are also

presented, along with relevant case law.

The report concludes by highlighting points raised by stakeholders regarding border procedures in

EU+ countries. The main considerations related to border procedures are summarised based on the

experiences of EU+ countries where applicable.

For more detailed information, the Annex provides a description of the application of border

procedures in each EU+ country.

1 The recast APD applies to Member States bound by the CEAS. Denmark is not bound by the recast APD, and Ireland has

opted out of the recast APD. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union and became a third country (non-

EU country) as of 1 February 2020.

2 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,

Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.