Legal and Social Developments

INFO 06/12/2013 – Asylum seekers subject to a Dublin procedure are entitled to ATA. On 17 April 2013, the Council of State repealed the Circular of 3 November 2009 and made it possible for asylum seekers involved in a Dublin II procedure to benefit from ATA (l'Allocation temporaire d'attente) and CADA.

An asylum seeker in France may benefit from ATA as soon as her or his first visit to the Prefecture to file the asylum claim. She may receive ATA until the transfer to the Member State responsible for the claim or until her claim is put into a Priority Procedure. If the claim is ultimately not transferred, the asylum seeker may receive ATA until the asylum claim has been decided in France.

INFO 05/30/2013 – The Senate Report presented by Madame Blondin concerning the Draft Bill n°736 (modified) is now public. The recommandations include:

• Improve and increase the frequency of the training of professionals who are likely to identify potential victims, with a focus on employment services,
• Ameliorate the protection of victims, with a focus on sheltering and accommodation

INFO 05/14/2013 – National conference for the reformation of the asylum system. ASH n°2809 of 10 May 2013 reported the plans of Manuel Valls, the Minister of the Interior, to reform the asylum system.

The decision to reform the system is the result of the European political agreement found on April 25, 2012, on the text revising Directive 2005/85/EC on the minimum standards for procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status. France will have two years, after the formal approval of the text by the European Parliament (expected June 2013), to transpose the Directive into national law.

The ASH article explains that the Minister expects to "launch a national consultation with associations and local elected officials starting in July" in order to evaluate the quality of accommodation and shelter and accessibility to the asylum procedure...

In particular, the time limit for the review of asylum applications should be reduced from 18 months to 6 months, with exceptions. To do so, Mr. Valls has reported a new structure of OFPRA and a simplification of the asylum process steps. Additionally, a public decree published before this summer should substantially revise the asylum application appeal process before the CNDA. Insofar as shelter, 2,000 places in shelters for asylum seekers should be opened as soon as July 1, 2013 (and another 2,000 before the first trimester of 2014).