Southern European countries on the border between the EU and the developing world have seen a surge of asylum seekers in recent years, and have complained that they must bear a heavier burden than northern EU states.

Some countries have taken drastic measures to deal with these rising numbers, such as turning boats of people back to Africa without checking if some of the passengers are legitimate asylum seekers. These measures have in turn been heavily criticized by other EU countries.

Sweden's minister for migration and asylum policy, Tobias Billstrom, has also put his support behind all countries sharing in the responsibility of taking care of the asylum seekers. But for Billstrom it's less about finger pointing and more about getting everyone to use the same system.

"This is really not a south-north discussion. This is a discussion where all the 27 member states have a shared interest," he told Deutsche Welle. "The fact that in 2007 Sweden, which is far from the southern EU border, received 60 percent of all asylum applications from Iraqis suggests that the issue of refugees is not a geographical one," he said. "It is an issue of legislation, that the mechanisms for a more legally safe asylum procedure are set in place as quickly as possible".

An integrated approach

The so-called Stockholm program discussed at this week's meeting envisages a streamlined asylum policy across the EU. Of particular concern to Billstrom and others is that, because of inequalities in the different countries' systems, asylum seekers consider their chosen destination more important than their grounds for application.

"More practical cooperation is needed so that officials in all 27 member states operate in the same fashion, that they think alike when it comes to asylum questions, that they do the assessment procedures in a similar way," Billstrom said. "This is the only way forward to achieve a common European asylum system."

Billstrom said he is confident that there is wide support among EU countries for a common European asylum system, hoping that it would be implemented within five years. The first step will be taken in the next six months, he said, with the establishment of an EU asylum support office, which will offer training and assistance to European asylum officials.

If Billstrom's Stockholm program is accepted within five years it won't make a difference whether asylum seekers submit their applications in Malta or in Sweden. Billstrom would also like to see a mechanism for legal migration into the EU. This could bring in workers, which he said Europe will need in the future.

There is also the "external dimension, the need for the EU to cooperate more closely with countries outside of the EU's borders with which we have interests in the field of migration," he said. "That goes for countries in Africa, but also, of course, in the Middle East and farther to the east".

After this week's informal meeting, the ministers are scheduled to meet again in November for final negotiations. The program would then be set to be voted on by the EU heads of state at a summit in December.

Author: Holly Fox
Editor: Neil King