Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Refugees in Central and Eastern Europe
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•• Recommendation
Employment is a key factor in the integration
process. ICF affirms that a lack of access to the labour
market during the reception phase seriously hinders integration
in the long term. It recommends that any restrictions on
employment be lifted at the earliest possible stage and not
later than six months from the time of the asylum application.
ICF welcomes the condition that access to the labour market
shall not be withdrawn during appeal procedures. However,
we are disappointed that the Directive places no obligation on
member states to provide vocational training. We recommend
that the member states permit all asylum seekers to
access government funded vocational training programmes.
•• Detention centres
Detention in the Czech Republic can be ordered for
asylum seekers who are arrested on Czech territory without
a valid passport or ID, even if they were about to apply for
asylum. The common practice depends on the respective
officer establishing the first contact with the refugee. It is the
officer who decides whether detention is “necessary”.
In Slovenia, asylum seekers are not detained during
the asylum procedure unless they disturb public order
or present a danger to other asylum seekers. In general,
detention of asylum seekers has only been practised since
May 2004. However, there is an obligatory “quarantine”.
Asylum seekers returned on the basis of the Dublin II
Regulation are not detained and most of them go underground
shortly after their return.
If an asylum seeker in Hungary makes an asylum
claim from detention, the asylum procedure and the procedure
under alien law are carried out simultaneously. It is
a “matter of luck” whether an asylum seeker trying to reach
the first reception centre without a passport and/or visa is
intercepted. It is the responsibility of border guard officers
or the alien policing officers to decide whether or not they
impose detention. Dublin II cases are officially not detained
after their return to Hungary.
Refugees applying for asylum in Austria are put in
the category of “illegal migrants” if their asylum claim is
not recognised as legitimate by the border guards. These
individuals are placed in deportation custody. If they apply
for asylum from detention, they remain in detention until
further notice. It is not clear yet whether they are released
after a positive decision in the pre-examination procedure.
In Slovakia, refugees are detained if they have
been arrested on Slovak territory without valid travel
documents and do not apply for asylum. If an asylum claim
is made upon interception, the person concerned is taken
to a first reception centre. In case that an asylum seeker
leaves the (closed) reception centre during an ongoing
procedure, s/he is taken to a detention centre. Asylum
seekers will also be detained if they attempt to leave the
Interview with Anny Knapp, 31 January 2006
Marek Čaněk: The Information and
Cooperation Forum published a comprehensive
and critical report on the
reception of asylum seekers in selected
countries of the European Union
(EU). What did you aim to achieve with
this report?
Anny Knapp: The first aim of the project was
to make a survey of the implementation of the
reception directive, to see if there is still a
need for action, observe if all member states
have fully implemented the directive and to
look for any outstanding questions.
The second aim was to strengthen the
cooperation between NGOs in neighbouring
countries, including that between old member
states and new member states. This is
especially important because we have a new
situation regarding the new member states,
as they have taken over the responsibilities for
the so-called Dublin cases. So, refugees who
apply for asylum in Austria, for example, will
not have their claim processed in Austria but
will be sent back to one of the new member
states if they travelled through it, for example
Slovakia. Therefore, we wanted to build up
a network where we could follow the clients
and get as much information as possible:
if these refugees have adequate reception
conditions in the new member states and
also if they have full access to the asylum
procedure.
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Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity