EU Legislation

The objective of the European Union is to establish a common policy on asylum, including a Common European Asylum System, in all EU Member States. The following Directives and Regulations are currently in force. Ireland participates in all of these Directives and Regulations, with the exception of Council Directive 2003/9/EC (see below).

Council Directive 2004/83/EC (commonly known as the Asylum Qualification Directive) of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection.

Council Directive 2005/85/EC  This document is a pdf (commonly known as the Asylum Procedures Directive) of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status.

Council Regulation (EC) 343/2003  This document is a pdf (commonly known as the Dublin II Regulation) establishes the criteria and mechanisms for determining the EU Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged by third country nationals in one of the EU Member States (or Iceland, Norway, Switzerland).

Another Member State may be responsible for examining the application where, for instance, an asylum claim was first lodged with that Member State or where the applicant is in possession of a valid residence document or visa for another Member State.

Council Regulation (EC) 2725/2000  This document is a pdf (commonly known as the Eurodac Regulation) assists with the operation of the Dublin II Regulation (see above) by establishing and laying down precise rules for the Eurodac  central electronic fingerprint database and data transmission network. The system assists by identifying persons who have made a previous asylum application in another Member State or who have illegally entered the European Union.

Regulation (EC) No. 862/2007 (commonly known as the Statistics Regulation) establishes common rules for the collection and compilation of statistics on asylum and immigration within the European Union to assist with the development of fair and effective policies on migration and asylum.

Council Directive 2003/9/EC  This document is a pdf ( commonly known as the Reception Conditions Directive) lays down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers. The legal basis for this Directive is Article 63 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). The provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty Protocol on the Position of Ireland and the United Kingdom  This document is a pdf in relation to asylum apply. Accordingly, Ireland has not adopted this Directive and consequently its provisions do not apply here.

Council Directive EC 2001/55  This document is a pdf sets minimum standards of temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and for the measures to be taken to promote balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences of such an event.

Click here to return to main Asylum Policy web page.