Common European Asylum System (CEAS)

The adoption of the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) in May 2024 marked the dismantling of the European Union (EU) rulebook and of core safeguards on refugee protection, as well as the entrenchment of broad derogation regimes and breaches of the rule of law.

Since 1999, the European Union (EU) has defined the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) as a body of laws governing the treatment of people seeking asylum. Its latest iteration , known as the “New Pact on Migration and Asylum”, was adopted in 2024 following eight years of negotiations. The CEAS now encompasses at least ten legal instruments that regulate various aspects of asylum procedures. These include standards on who qualifies as a refugee (Qualification Regulation), outlining the procedures for examining claims (Asylum Procedures Regulation), and setting out the rights of asylum seekers both while awaiting a decision (Reception Directive) and after being granted protection (Qualification Regulation). The CEAS also specifies which EU country is responsible for processing asylum claims and providing protection (Asylum and Migration Management Regulation).

Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) maintains its position that the CEAS reform represents an impermissible regression of hard-fought asylum standards developed through legislation, litigation and binding case law over the past two decades. This will inevitably undermine the protection of refugee rights as mandated by international and EU standards.

On this page RSA will be publishing new material regarding the Common European Asylum System.