The Common European Asylum System in Poland - Tema asyl ...

the Polish case, there are clearly rights that could have been possible, or at least
easier, to claim in one of the more prosperous EU member states than in Poland.
Particularly regarding the claiming of rights in terms of future socioeconomic
prospects. Of course the Polish economy will hopefully advance in the future with
good help of the EU accession, and a better economy will improve the future
prospects for refugees to settle and make a living in Poland as a country of
asylum. But as the situation is today Poland has considerably less resources to
invest in the refugees than many Western European EU member states, and
therefore I consider the transition of responsibility from the EU to Poland to be a
somewhat a weak link in the legitimacy chain. I would therefore like to propose,
in the light of the understanding that we now have of the Polish context, an
important measures that I consider could be undertaken in order to make up for
the deficit in legitimacy that I have shown that the Common European Asylum
System presently suffers from. Namely I believe that the European Refugee Fund
could provide the economically weaker member states with sufficient means to
support the refugees. This is done by the ERF to a certain degree at present
(please see further in the Background chapter), but it could be done more since
this is a question of justice and equality for all refugees in the European Union,
and it will determine whether the transition of responsibility is legitimate or not.
On the one hand this concerns funding during the waiting time when the asylum
seekers await their decision in the asylum process since they cannot move to
another EU country before their claim has been accepted. The reception
conditions must therefore be assured at a decent level, equivalent with the asylum
systems in Western EU countries. On the other hand the waiting time after the
granting of protection, before moving to another EU member state is possible, is
at present at least 5 years (more for those granted subsidiary- or other forms of
protection, please read more in the Background chapter). Therefore an additional
point of view can here be that the ERF should support and compensate refugees
up until the day that they are free to move within the European Union. My
suggestion represents thus an extension of the burden-sharing mechanism that
already is carried out through the ERF.
In addition I would like to state that besides the gain in legitimacy if these
measures were assured realities, also the trust of the asylum seekers in the asylum
systems of Poland and the other Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC)
probably would increase with these reforms. This could in the long run diminish
the feeling that some asylum seekers have of being deprived of living conditions
by being “forced” by the Dublin regulation to seek asylum in Poland or another
CEEC, which could reduce the incentives to move westwards illegally.
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