Vingerafdruk-database toont aan dat 17.000 asielzoekers in verschillende landen procedures hebben lopen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSESL - An EU finger-printing database set up last year is helping to identify the thousands of asylum seekers who apply for asylum in several EU countries simultaneously in the hope of being accepted more quickly.

Known as Eurodac, the database shows that, since January last year, 17,287 of the almost 247,000 processed asylum seekers have made multiple applications. Almost 25,000 illegal immigrants are also registered on the database.

An EU official said this rate would "flatten out over time" as asylum seekers realise that it is no longer possible to do "asylum-shopping".

The reduction in multiple claims and the fact that customs officials in the member states can immediately see if someone has sought asylum in another EU country is set to significantly reduce costs.

Before Eurodac was introduced, member states had to accommodate the person while they processed the application - something which typically takes up to 12 months.

UK, Germany and Sweden

Now, if the database registers that the person has applied before, then they will be sent to the country where they first made the application.

Statistics in Eurodac's first yearly report show that the UK, Sweden and Germany are most favoured countries for multiple applications - meaning that asylum seekers typically enter via a southern country with long sea borders such as Italy and then go on to apply in one of these three countries.

An EU official said people often apply in several countries at once so that they can claim welfare benefits - a part of which are paid back to human traffickers.

Big brother?

The European Commission is very self-congratulatory about the success of Eurodac which it runs. As one official said, "There were some that said [the commission] was a huge bureaucratic organisation that could not organise a piss up in a brewery".

However, the database has raised some human rights issues. Before it came into force, civil liberties groups said that finger printing asylum seekers was criminalizing them straight away.

MEPs in the European Parliament also raised serious doubts about it.

These fears are set to be intensified if some countries - such as Germany - get their way in their call for police authorities in member states to have access to the information.

Currently, just the authorities processing the application have that access.