THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

MIGRATION AND ASYLUM POLICIES 93 as they delay access to the international protection procedure and due process guarantees, as well as jeopardising respect for the principle of non-refoule- ment; reject the automatic issuance of a return deci- sion together with the rejection of the asylum ap- plication and guarantee the automatic suspensive effect of appeals in all cases. – Ensure an individualised and guaranteed treatment of asylum applications, as well as free legal assis- tance at all stages of administrative and judicial pro- ceedings without exception; implement a mechanism for early identification and referral of people in vul- nerable situations to reinforce the guarantees of pro- tection for victims of trafficking, people with specific needs or children without family references. – Reject broad derogations from the EU asylum acquis and eliminate the extension of the registration dead- line for asylum applications and the mandatory asylum procedure at the border in crisis situations; ensure that the basis of the response to crisis situations is access to the international protection procedure with full guarantees and mandatory and shared solidarity. – Defend the Temporary Protection Directive against the risk of its repeal and replacement by the “im- mediate protection” of the regulation on crisis situ- ations, which is less protective, and promote its ap- plication to respond to situations similar to the one that occurred as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. – Ensure that biometric data collection is never co- ercive and that it includes a child, protection and human rights perspective, and promote family re- unification when the best interests of the child so determine. – Promote and strengthen independent national mech- anisms for monitoring respect for fundamental rights in all surveillance and control activities at external borders. These mechanisms should be equipped with guarantees to ensure their independence, involving national human rights institutions, the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and civil society organisations in their operation; and have a mandate to investigate any violation of fundamental rights at borders, as well as the capacity to impose sanctions. – Promote the adoption of an ambitious resettlement mechanism with mandatory quotas for all Member States; assume a greater commitment in relation to the adoption of legal and safe channels: promote the possibility of applying for asylum in embassies and consulates abroad, the issuance of humanitarian vi- sas, make the requirements for family reunification more flexible, as well as facilitate access to labour or training mobility programmes in the European Union. – Reject the concept of “instrumentalisation” and the standardisation of exceptions to asylum rules, pro- vided for in the Instrumentalisation Regulation and in the amendment of the Schengen Borders Code; and instead, promote greater harmonisation of the rules of the Common European Asylum System. Abbreviations – ALE: parliamentary group of the European Green Al- liance. – ECR: European Conservatives and Reformists Parlia- mentary Group. – ECRE: European Council on Refugees and Exiles. – EUAA: European Union Asylum Agency. – FRA: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. – FRONTEX: European Agency for Border and Coast Guard. – LIBE: Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties, Jus- tice and Home Affairs. – NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation. – EU: European Union. References Consejo de la Unión Europea (2022): Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels, Thursday 3 and Friday 4 March 2022 . Available at: https://www.consilium . europa.eu/en/meetings/jha/2022/03/03-04/ Consejo de la Unión Europea (2022a): Asilo y migración: el Consejo aprueba mandatos de negociación sobre el Reglamento Eurodac y el Reglamento de control y veintiún Estados adoptan una declaración sobre la solidaridad . Available at: https://www.consilium. europa.eu/es/press/press-releases/2022/06/22/ migration-and-asylum-pact-council-adopts-nego-