News

The Commission issued a joint communication to the EP, Council, European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions proposing a comprehensive approach in response to the Syrian conflict. The Commission calls on Member States to comply with UNHCR’s request that places be made available for the humanitarian admission of 10,000 Syrian refugees from countries in the Middle East and North Africa and the resettlement of an additional 2,000 Syrian nationals.

The new mechanism will enable a six month suspension of visa free travel for citizens of specified third countries. Two objectives of the mechanism are identified. (1) To encourage 'visa reciprocity', by reimposing visa requirements for nationals of countries that still impose them on EU citizens (e.g. the USA, which still imposes visa requirements on citizens from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Poland). (2) To 'halt substantial and sudden increases in irregular migrant numbers or unfounded asylum requests' from third countries ordinarily benefiting from the visa waiver.

The European Commission has agreed to release five documents that the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) had requested concerning the UK opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Commission had initially refused to release them referring to the need to protect the legal advice it receives and its internal decision-making process.

UNHCR published on 17/07/2012 their Guidelines on Statelessness No.3: The Status of Stateless Persons at the National Level. These Guidelines are intended to provide interpretative legal guidance for governments, NGOs, legal practitioners, decision-makers and the judiciary, as well as for UNHCR staff and other UN agencies involved in addressing statelessness.