Overeenkomst over gezamenlijke regels over de status van vluchtelingen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU justice and home affairs ministers on Tuesday reached political agreement on one of the two key texts setting out common rules on asylum - a law setting out the criteria for refugee status in the EU.

The directive also sets out the minimum rights and benefits for those who get refugee status.

Agreement on this directive before the 1 May deadline was possible after the recent approval of a new immigration law in Germany which cleared the way for the country to negotiate on this issue.

"I think we now have an important body of legislative instruments in the Union", Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell said.

"I believe it is the jewel of the crown of the first phase of the common European asylum system", Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino said, adding that the Commission was "very happy" with the result of the negotiations.

However, outstanding issues still remain on the other directive which sets out the procedures to grant and withdraw refugee status, where the last attempt to forge a deal on this issue before the deadline will be in the next Justice and Home Affairs Council on the 29-30 of April.

"It is clear that there are still a lot of divisions amongst member states", Mr Vitorino said.

Refugee and human rights organisations called on the EU on Monday to scrap this proposal, which they say breaches international law.

They say there is an absence of a guaranteed right for all asylum seekers to remain in a country of asylum while the appeal is being processed and are concerned that asylum seekers may be sent back to non-EU countries which do not maintain basic human rights standards.

Compensation to crime victims

EU ministers also reached consensus on a directive on compensation to crime victims, including terrorism, which will help victims claim compensation as a result of a crime suffered in another member state.

Germany and the UK still need to re-consult their parliaments on this issue, but the Irish Presidency is hoping that an agreement on this directive can still be reached in April.

The declaration on combating terrorism, adopted by EU leaders last week, called for EU states to adopt this directive before the 1 May.

The directive also obliges the two current EU states and five EU acceding states which so far do not have a national scheme granting compensation for victims of cross-border crime, to have such a system in place by 1 July 2005.

The minimum amount of money that the victims would be entitled to was removed from the text, although the principle that the compensation should be "fair and adequate" was introduced.

It will be up to the individual member states to grant this type of compensation to non-EU citizens subject to crime committed while in an EU state.