STANDARD SUMMARY PROJECT FICHE

Transcription

1 STANDARD SUMMARY PROJECT FICHE 1. Basic Information 1.1 Désirée Number: CZ Twinning number: CZ01/IB/JH/ Title: Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies 1.3 Sector: Justice and Home Affairs 1.4 Location: Czech Republic, Ministry of the Interior and Police Presidium 2. Objectives 2.1 Overall Objective Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities Ability to take on the obligations of the membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union 2.2 Project purpose To ensure full compliance of asylum and migration policies of the Czech Republic with those of the EU Member States 2.3 Accession Partnership and NPAA priority Accession Partnership(1999) short-term priorities: - to strengthen border control and ensure co-ordination among the relevant authorities to enable full participation in the Schengen Information System - to adopt new asylum and alien legislation and to reinforce the policy dealing with illegal migration NPAA priorities in the field of migration policy: Short-term priorities: - to prepare the time schedule of legislative, organisational and practical measures for gradual adoption of the acquis in the field of entry and residence of aliens and of future external border management - to analyse effectiveness of implementation of the Act on Residence of Aliens in the territory of the Czech Republic Medium term priorities: - on the basis of the time schedule to realise a set of legislative, organisational and practical measures for the gradual adoption of the acquis in the area of alien entry and residence and of future external border management NPAA priorities in the field of asylum: Short-term priorities: - to increase the number of adjudicators and assistants to ensure efficient and just asylum procedure (strengthening the asylum adjudication infrastructure) - to set up an asylum department at Prague-Ruzyne international airport Medium-term priorities: - to set up an independent second instance 1

2 2 - to set up a Dublin Centre in the period 1 to 1,5 year before the Czech Republic s accession to the EU 3. Description This project consists of two subprojects: (1) Strengthening border control and prevention of illegal migration and (2) Development of asylum policy. 3.1 Background and justification: (1) Strengthening of border control and prevention of illegal migration The Czech Republic continues to be a transit country for illegal migration in the year The illegal migration pressure on the EU external border has not become lower, nor have the attempts to reside legally, especially from the side of citizens of the former U.S.S.R. In the framework of the harmonisation with the EU Member States the new Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Aliens, was passed. It came into force on 1 January The Act brought changes, inter alia, to visa issuing matters and it introduced administrative law offences and humanitarian residence forms. On the basis of practical experience with the implementation of the Act, the Government decided (Resolution No.295/2000 of 22 March 2000) to prepare an amendment to the Act. The amendment was approved by the Czech Government and is planned to come into force in the first half of the year In order to harmonise the Czech policy concerning the state border protection with that of the EU, the State Security Council by its Resolution No. 97 of 20 June 2000 took note of the document called "The Proposal for Creation of State Borders Protection System of the Czech Republic" drafted by the Ministry of the Interior. The Council charged the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Defence to implement measures set forth in the time schedule annexed to the Resolution (see Annex 1 hereto). The time schedule contains measures to be implemented during the years 2000 to 2002 aimed at the organisational, legislative and financial support of harmonising the process of checks of persons and state border protection with the Schengen requirements. The Czech Government then discussed and by its Resolution No. 733 of 19 July 2000 took note of the "Proposal to Create an Alien and Border Police Service that will be authorised to ensure state border protection and to reveal and document illegal conduct connected with the trespassing of the state borders". The Resolution charged the Minister of the Interior to implement the tasks enumerated in the time schedule annexed to the Resolution. According to this schedule there will be a centrally managed Alien and Border Police Service with headquarters based in Prague. The Alien and Border Police regions and districts will be subordinated directly to the headquarters. (At present the regions have been managed by the headquarters only in a methodical way.) Another issue regulated by this Resolution is devolving of the matters related to the residence of foreigners from the competence of the Police to the competence of the Ministry of the Interior by 31 December A lot of related legislative, organisational, personal, economic and other arrangements will be required. Finding the

3 suitable model for more flexible decision-making on the foreigners residence status will be essential. The Ministry of the Interior will decide on the residence of aliens in co-operation with the relevant labour, trade and other offices. This will require corresponding to technical equipment and well-trained staff. Despite many measures to improve the state border protection deficiencies still persist. The Phare 1998 project Strengthening Border Control helps to improve Border Police officers knowledge. The use of the equipment purchased under the project assists to the improvement of the border control. After the assessment of the future external border situation, the Pre-accession Advisor (PAA) stated that the green border was not secured in compliance with the Schengen standards (while the situation at border crossings was deemed satisfactory). Lack of the Border Police staff and insufficient equipment, together with other economic and organisational reasons are the causes of the situation mentioned above. The Czech Government decided (Resolution No.733/2000) to re-organise the Alien and Border Police management structure and to establish an authority with the nation-wide competence. These steps shall assist in improving the state border protection. Special units to fight illegal migration will be established. Despite the effort to carry out standard controls the problems persist. Therefore there is a need of using the EU Member States experience which will extend and complete the Border Police staff knowledge. EU report which was elaborated after second evaluation mission ( ) has confirmed the lack of an efficient border control at the Czech-Slovak Border. According the statistics (1999) 9% of illegal migrants are caught at the Czech-Slovak border, while 43% of all illegal migrants are caught at the Czech-German border. Alarming is the flow of illegal migration from the Slovak border to the Northern Bohemia with destination Germany. The report also underlined that border control staff and equipment should be clearly increased especially at the Slovak-Czech green border. The need of adequate training of staff and explanation in the process of adoption was mentioned. The Phare 2001 Project would also help fulfil the Government Resolution programme mentioned above which is related to devolving the matters concerning the residence of foreigners to the Ministry of the Interior authorities. It is also related to finishing the harmonisation of the control of persons and the border protection according to the Schengen standards, which shall be implemented by the end of the year (2) Development of asylum policy In the last two years the Czech Republic has been facing an increased asylum seekers inflow. While before 1 October 1998, when the first instance asylum proceedings were transferred from the Aliens and Border Police to the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the average number of asylum seekers in the Czech Republic had been about 2000, in the year refugees applied for asylum and in the year refugees. 3

4 The authority responsible for decision making in the first instance is the Department for Asylum and Migration Policies of the MoI, which originated from the transformed Department for Refugees and Integration of Foreigners of the Ministry. The appeal instance is the Minister of the Interior with his advisory board the Asylum Appeals Commission. The Commission is composed of independent experts and representatives of NGOs and it started to work on 1 April The background papers for the Minister s decisions are prepared by the Office of the Asylum Appeals Commission. Negative decisions are subject to judicial review by the High Court in Prague. In order to make the asylum procedure more effective and to harmonise the asylum matters with the EU acquis, a new Act No.325/1999 Coll., on Asylum, had been prepared and approved in 1999 which came into effect on 1 January In spite of the fact that the most requirements of the EU acquis were taken into account during the preparation of this law and an important progress has been achieved, the practice calls for some changes. That is why an amendment to the asylum act has been prepared. The National Action Plan (NAP) of the Phare Horizontal Programme (PHP) foresees setting-up an independent second instance in asylum proceedings (which is nowadays subject to extensive discussions), of a Dublin centre and of a detached unit of the Department for Asylum and Migration Policies at the airport Prague Ruzyne. This unit was set-up in January The training activities required within this Phare project should help prepare well-trained and specialised staff for these new units. The intention to create a new detached unit at the airport is mentioned also in the report elaborated by the EU evaluation mission ( ) as well as the creation of a new centre for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers near the airport. It is also planned to detach one part of the present detention centre in Balková (near Plzen) for detained foreigners who decide to apply for asylum. The report also stresses the necessity of a training for the staff dealing with the asylum procedure. The Czech State budget will cover the setting-up of an electronic country of origin information system, which should provide necessary information in a fast and direct way to decision makers and, as a result, it should help to make the asylum procedure quicker and more effective in accordance with NPAA priorities. State investment support is conceived also for building-up of a reception centre in Velké Prílepy (at the periphery of Prague) designated for asylum seekers coming through the international airport Praha Ruzyne. It is supposed to build a residence for 150 asylum seekers, including kitchen, offices (including equipment), stores, utility networks (electricity, water, gas ), fence etc. Placing asylum seekers in this new reception centre will be more effective and economical than transporting them to the nearest reception centre in Cervený Újezd (approximately 80 km from Prague) which is a common practice now. The centre will be administrated by Administration of Refugees Facilities and it will be one part of the whole complex. The other part will be administrated by the Alien and Border Police Service and it will serve as a detention centre for illegal immigrants. The construction and the equipment of the whole centre will be financed from the national budget. 4

5 3.2 Linked activities: The migration part of the project is a follow-up of the Phare project CZ Strengthening Border Control, the Phare project CZ Strengthening the Operation of Law Enforcement Institutions and the Judiciary, the subproject Preparation for Schengen Implementation, and the Phare 2000 project CZ Schengen Information System and Strengthening the Border Management, subproject Strengthening Border Management. The content of the institutional part of the Phare 1998 project was to transfer the EU Member States experience in the field of the control at the EU external border. The Phare 1999 sub-project introduces the application of the Schengen standards in the Czech Republic. The Phare 2000 project CZ Schengen Information System and Strengthening the Border Management, sub-project Strengthening Border Management, aims at the improvement of the border management especially in its technical part. Suggested Phare 2001 project should amend the theoretical knowledge in order to improve the border protection system and at the same time assists in devolving the matters concerning the residence of foreigners to the Ministry of the Interior authorities. The project should help the realisation of the national projects Control of Persons at the Borders and Inland and Expert Aid in Schengen Implementation. The asylum part of the project is tied up to the Phare Horizontal Programme (PHP) on Justice and Home Affairs (ZZ 9625) - Joint Support Programme on the Application of the emerging Acquis on Asylum and related Standards and Practices in the Associated Countries of the Central and Eastern Europe (February November 2000). The activities within the PHP were focused on the approximation of the national legislation, procedures and institutions to the EU standards. These activities were attended by officers of the Department for Asylum and Migration Policies, Alien and Border Police, NGOs, High Court and other relevant authorities dealing with asylum. Within this programme a National Action Plan (NAP) which identifies the needs of the Czech Republic in the field of asylum was developed. The NAP was finalized at the final PHP conference in November 2000 (see Annex) and it includes the progress achieved during the last two years and remaining aims which correspond to the aims of this national Phare project Phare project CZ : Strengthening the Institutions of Law Enforcement/Asylum, sub-project Strengthening the Asylum Institutions was not realised, however. 3.3 Results: (1) Border control and migration Staff of Alien and Border Police Service trained and able to use the tools for detection of illegal immigration, make decisions and organise the state border protection 5

6 Neighbouring states cross-border co-operation in exchange of information on illegal migration improved Organisation of checks at the border improved Effectiveness in revealing and combating immigrant trafficking become higher Illegal immigrants detected more efficiently and documents checked more thoroughly (2) Asylum Staff of the Asylum and Migration Department trained and prepared for setting up the asylum procedure at the airport, the Dublin Centre and the independent second instance asylum procedure Lawyers and decision-makers in asylum and migration more knowledgeable in the relevant acquis. Decision-making procedure brought quicker and more effective (through establishment of country of origin system - financed from the state budget) 3.4 Activities: a) The project will bring assistance to the relevant Czech authorities in the form of a Twinning package (training, seminars, lectures, workshops and study visits). 1 Pre-Accession Advisor is required for 12 months who has a minimum of 5 years experience in the field of border control and migration, but also asylum. He/she should ensured short-term experts for providing training in bellow mentioned areas and study visits (total EUR approx EUR for the PAA and remaining part for short-time experts, seminars and study visits). Short - term experts (approximately 40 50) would be able to explain questions of transformation of residence agenda, other questions connected with abolition and renewal of border control and problems concerning asylum. Under the Twinning part the Czech side will provide the offices and travel costs within the CR participants. Training for Alien and Border Police Service: 1. concerning managing and organisation of the state border protection theoretical and practical knowledge aimed at checking of persons at the border and inland (approximately 70 persons) 2. concerning documentation of cross-border illegal migration (approximately 50 persons) 3. aimed for top border management in connection with setting up a new nationwide Service of Alien and Border Police (approximately 50 persons) 4. aimed at the use of mobile detection units operating in border area (approximately 60 persons) 5. focused on use of air monitoring (approximately 20 persons) 6. concerning residence agenda (legal stay, decision making procedure, various European models, criteria for decision on aliens immigration etc.) (app. 20 persons) 6

7 Training is focused on people from the alien and border police management from districts and regions at various levels. Training for Department for Asylum and Migration Policies in line with the NAP 7. seminar concerning EU acquis in the field of asylum and migration (for approximately 40 persons officers of the Department from the HQ in Prague and from its detached units asylum centres) 8. seminar concerning the asylum procedure at the airport (for approximately 20 persons from the detached unit at the Prague airport) completed by one or two-week study visit in one or two international airports (5 persons) 9. seminar focused on the Dublin Convention and its implementation in practice (for approximately 20 persons who are supposed to work in this field) completed by one or two-week study visits in one or two EU Dublin centres (5 persons) 10. focused on the independent second instance asylum procedure (for approximately 20 persons who are supposed to work in this field) completed by one or two-week study visits in one or two EU partner offices (5 persons) 4. Institutional Framework The project will be implemented by the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Presidium. Newly established Department for Asylum and Migration Policies of the MoI has the responsibility for development of asylum and migration policy. Since the Police Presidium and its Directorate of Alien and Border Police Service has the responsibility for state border protection, a close co-operation in the sub-project concerning prevention of illegal migration is needed with the mentioned department. 5. Detailed Budget (in M ) Phare Support Investment Support Institution Building Total Phare (=I+IB) National Cofinancing IFI TOTAL Contract 1 Twinning Package 0,65 0,65 0,65 Total 0,00 0,65 0,65 0,00 0,65 The contribution from the national budget for the twinning will be in form of provision of offices, financing of journeys within the CR etc. Notes: Total national co-financing for years 2001 and 2002 in the framework of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies is focused on the three following areas: Modernisation of visa process 11,15 M National Schengen Information System (N-SIS) 2,17 M Control of persons at borders and inland 11,98 M 6. Implementation Arrangements 6.1 Implementing Agency The CFCU will be Implementing Agency responsible for tendering, contracting and accounting. Responsibility for technical aspects related to preparation, implementation and control will rest with the MoI as the beneficiary institution. 7

8 6.2 Twinning The subject responsible for institution building is the Ministry of the Interior: Mr. Tomáš Haišman, Director of Department for Asylum and Migration Policies, Ministry of the Interior, P.O. BOX 21/OAM, Praha 7 (tel. 02/ , fax. 02/ , opu@mvcr.cz), Czech Republic 6.3 Non-standard aspects The "Practical Guide to Phare, Ispa & Sapard contract procedures" shall be followed. 6.4 Contracts Phare contract 1: Twinning Covenant 0,65 M 7. Implementation Schedule 7.1 Start of call for proposals: as soon as possible - 4Q/ Start of project activity: 2Q/ Project Completion: 4Q/ Equal Opportunity Equal opportunity principles and practices in ensuring equitable gender participation in the project will be guaranteed. 9. Environment: N/A 10. Rates of return: N/A 11. Investment criteria: N/A 12. Conditionality and sequencing The sub-projects mentioned above are tied up together. They are built on analysis and needs of the Czech Republic in the field of asylum and migration. They should lead to development of asylum and residence procedures compatible with those of the EU Member States. The sub-project 1 is connected with former Phare 1998, 1999, 2000 projects; the subproject 2 with the Phare Horizontal Programme. The part of the project focused on the training concerning the independent second instance can be realised only after the Government decision to set-up this instance which was not yet taken. Efficiency of activities and undertaken measures will be controlled by the preaccession adviser and relevant project leaders. ANNEXES TO PROJECT FICHE 8

9 1. Logical framework matrix in standard format 2. Detailed implementation chart 3. Contracting and disbursement schedule by quarter for full duration of programme (including disbursement period) 4.Government Resolution No. 733 of 19 th July Technical specifications for the equipment for the Alien and Border Police (contract 2) 6. National Action Plan of the Phare Horizontal Programme. 9

10 LOGFRAME PLANNING MATRIX FOR Programme name and number: CZ Annex 1 Project: Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies Contracting period expires: 31/10/2003 Disbursement period expires: 31/10/2004 Total Budget: 0,65 M Phare contribution: 0,65 M Overall objective Objectively verifiable indicators Sources of verification Stability of institutions guaranteeing Acknowledgement by the European EC Regular Report democracy, the rule of law, human rights Commission and respect for and protection of minorities Ability to take on the obligations of the membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union Project purpose Objectively verifiable indicators Sources of verification Assumptions To ensure full compliance and enforcement of asylum and migration policies of the Czech Republic with that of the EU Member States Acknowledgement by the European Commission Acknowledgement by the EU Member States (since acknowledgement by the EC does not necessarily lead to the membership in Schengen group) EC Regular Report Phare evaluation reports No change of governmental /ministerial policy in the field of asylum and migration Other parts of the acquis implemented and enforced to fulfil the 1 st and the 3 rd Copenhagen criteria. Results Objectively verifiable indicators Sources of verification Assumptions 1a) Alien and Border Police Service Improvement of control of persons at the border Phare evaluation reports Sufficient training Staff of the Alien Border Police Service and inland - increased number of detained Evaluation through comparison Organisational preconditions trained and able to use the tools for detection persons in future (1999 approx at with the Project Fiche Legislative process in the field of of illegal immigration, make decisions and to external border) caused by technical Statistics of the Department for asylum and migration finalised before manage and organise the state border protection improvement The estimanition we can hardly consider. Asylum and Migration Policies and of the Alien and Border the accession of the Czech Republic into the EU Neighbouring states cross-border cooperation Number of asylum decisions increased by 10% Police Service in exchange of information on in 3 years illegal migration improved Number of asylum decisions per person and 1 Organisation of checks at the border month increased by 10% in 3 years improved Asylum reception centre for 150 asylum seekers Effectiveness in revealing and combating in Velké Prílepy established and running immigrant trafficking became higher Illegal immigrants detected more efficiently 10

11 and documents checked more thoroughly 1b) Asylum and Migration Staff of the Asylum and Migration Department trained and prepared for setting up: the asylum procedure at the airport; the Dublin Centre; the independent second instance asylum procedure Lawyers and decision makers in asylum and migration were more knowledgeable in the relevant acquis Decision making procedure brought quicker and more effective (through establishment of country of origin system) Asylum reception centre near airport established and functioned (financed from the state budget) Activities Means Assumptions 1) Delivering of training for the Alien and Border Police and Department for Asylum and Migration Policies staff provided by PAA a) Alien and Border Police Service 1.concerning managing and organisation of the state border protection theoretical and practical knowledge aimed at checking of persons at the border and inland (approx. 70 participants) 2.concerning documentation of cross-border illegal migration (approx. 50 participants) 3.aimed for top border management in connection with setting up a new nation-wide Service of Alien and Border Police (approx. 50 participants) 4.aimed at the use of mobile detection units operating in border area (approx. 60 The project will be implemented through 1 contract as follows: contract 1 - Twinning EUR: - 1 pre-accession advisor for 12 months who has a minimum of 5 years experience in the field of asylum and migration or border police service; - short-term experts (40-50) for providing training - study visits The asylum part of the project is in full compliance and recognises with the National Action Plan (completed in November 2000) which was the output of the Phare Horizontal Programme on asylum (ZZ 9625) Border crossing points reinforced by new equipment supply delivered from Phare CZ resources (computers, automatic fingerprinting information system, motor vehicle registration number scanning device, underground detectors, thermovision units-already delivered and located at the Czech-Slovak border), from Phare CZ resources (computing technology), from Phare CZ resources (computing technology, mobile system for guarding and 11

12 participants) 5.focused on use of air monitoring (approx. 20 participants) 6.concerning residence agenda (legal stay, decision making procedure, various European models, criteria for decision on aliens immigration etc.) (approx. 20 participants) b) Asylum and Migration 7.concerning the EU acquis in the field of asylum and migration (approx. 40 participants) 8.in the field of asylum procedure at the airport (approx. 20 participants) 9.focused on the Dublin Convention and its implementation in practice completed by study visits in one or two EU Dublin centre/s (approx. 20 participants) 3) 10.focused on the independent second instance asylum procedure completed by study visits in one or two EU partner offices (approx. 20 participants) controlling border during day and night) Staff available for the: 1) detached unit at the airport 2) future Dublin centre 3) independent second instance asylum procedure Under the Twinning part the offices and the travel costs within the CR participants are provided by the Czech side Supply contract will be co-financed from the state budget in amount of 11,98 M Building up the reception centre for asylum seekers coming through the international airport Praha-Ruzyne in Velké Prílepy, including the detention centre, i. e. residence for 150 asylum seekers, kitchen, offices (including equipment), stores, network of supplies (electricity, water, gas..), fence (2 contracts, i.e. contract 4 and 5) Preconditions Governmental Resolution No. 733/2000 concerning setting up an Alien and Border Police Service authorised to ensure state border protection and to reveal illegal conduct connected with the trespassing on the state borders passed in July 2000 (Alien and Border Police must be reorganised by December 2002) Decision on the setting up the independent second instance asylum procedure made (anticipated that it will be passed by the December 2001) Appointment of the staff to receive the training Technical specifications for the electronic country of origin information system have been prepared 12

13 Detailed Implementation Chart for the Project Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies Annex 2 Year Detailed Project Implementation J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D Institution Building Twinning and Training Package -Launch Twinning request to Member States -Selection of MS(s) for twinning -Elaboration of twinning covenant -Submit Twinning covenant to Commission & Steering Committee for approval -Twinning Package commences - Project completion Investment Component - Tender Launch - Contract(s) Signature 13

14 Cumulative Contracting and Disbursement Schedule for the Project Annex 3 Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies (1,95 M ) Cumulative Quarterly Contracting Schedule (7,30 M ) Project 3Q/00 4Q/00 1Q/01 2Q/01 3Q/01 4Q/01 1Q/02 2Q/02 3Q/02 4Q/02 1Q/03 2Q/03 Total Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies 0, ,95 Cumulative Quarterly Disbursement Schedule (7,30 M ) Project 3Q/00 4Q/00 1Q/01 2Q/01 3Q/01 4Q/01 1Q/02 2Q/02 3Q/02 4Q/02 1Q/03 2Q/03 Total Development of Border Control, Migration and Asylum Policies 0,2 0,5 1,4 1,95 1,95 14

15 Annex 4 GOVERNMENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC RESOLUTION No.733 of 19 th July 2000 concerning Proposal to create the Alien and Border Police Service authorised to ensure state border protection, to reveal and document illegal conduct connected with trespassing of the state borders T h e G o v e r n m e n t I. t a k e s n o t e of Proposal to create the Alien and Border Police Service authorised to ensure state border protection, to reveal and document illegal conduct connected with trespassing of the state borders contained in part III of submitted documents and adapted to government recommendations; II. c h a r g e s the Minister of the Interior to fulfil the tasks annexed to this resolution. Action: Minister of the Interior Prime Minister Miloš Zeman Note: non-official translation 15

16 Time Schedule of Tasks 1. To ensure financial resources (within the framework of Ministry of the Interior s budget ) for approved increase of established working positions for the purpose of detection units and the Alien and Border Police Service departments in regions of South and North Bohemia, for further reinforcement of the Alien and Border Police Service in regions and for centre for detained foreigners in Velké Prílepy from government reserve resource (total of 550 established working positions). Deadline: 31 October To establish detection units of the Alien and Border Police by the Police of the CR in regions of East Bohemia, North Bohemia, West Bohemia, South Bohemia, Central Bohemia and in capital Prague. Deadline: 31 December To analyse possibility of transferring established working positions from railway escort sections of the Railway Police departments in regions including policemen in favour of the Alien and Border Police Service detection units, to adopt corresponding measures. Deadline: 31 December To work out time schedule of essential legislative, organisational, personal, economic and other measures necessary for re-organisation of the Alien and Border Police Service management. Deadline: 31 December To establish the Alien and Border Police Service with state-wide competence, which will be authorised to ensure state border protection, to carry out border controls, to reveal and document illegal conduct connected with trespassing of the state borders and with residence of foreigners in the territory of the Czech Republic, including establishment of departments of the Alien Police and the Border Police by fusing of current departments of the Alien Police and departments of the Border Police. 16

17 Deadline: 31 December To devolve residence permit agenda and corresponding administrative proceeding from the Alien and Border Police Service s competence to competence of the Ministry of the Interior and regional authorities. Deadline: 31 December To finish process of harmonisation of checks of persons and state border protection and to start system state border protection in conformity with Schengen standards. Deadline: 31 December To submit regular report on fulfilling the tasks resulting from Proposal for Creation of System State Border Protection. Deadline: half-yearly 17

18 Technical specifications for the equipment for the Alien and Border Police (contract 2) Annex 5 Type of equipment mobile termovision (including vehicle) termovision - termocamera (handy equipment) videospectral comparator VSC 4 Amount Estimated Price for 1 piece (EUR) Total price (M EUR) , , ,158 videospectral comparator VSC ,072 PC grafical station with equipment for scanning, processing and data storing on ,012 portable media Audiovisual technology for presentation and lecture working place (digital overhead projector, visualisator for square materials ,058 projection and 2 pieces of notebooks (laptops) for work with grafical files Coaxial retroviewer CONFIRM for 3M film control ,8 0,007 UV lamp ,009 Pocket magnifying glass 12times zoom ,7 0,015 TOTAL 1,300 18

19 Annex 6 I. Pre-procedural elements National Action Plan of the Phare Horizontal Programme Evaluated Needs 1. Identified needs, improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4. Relevant existing 5. Identified new Clarification of the following regulation in the Drafts Access to the Procedure See Article 3, Para 1; the wording could be misleading: it should be clarified that the statement should be treated as an intention to seek asylum, whether there are clear indications that the person seeks protection. Issue addressed The Asylum Law is now in accordance with the acquis as its section 3 states that expression of intention to claim asylum (...) is a written or other expression of the alien which makes it obvious that the alien is seeking, in the Czech Republic, protection against persecution. All the people we met insisted on the fact it was, after the Law, easy to ask for asylum. It is planned to introduce an airport procedure at the airport in Prague. The regulations are in the draft of the amendment to the Act of Asylum. 19

20 II. Procedural elements 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new 1 Independent 2 nd Instance A: Establishing the independent second instance According to many various sources the question is under preparation. It is part of a major judicial and administra-tive reform. It seems that the precise structure of the instance is not determined yet although we got the impression that a multilayer administrative structure was a possibility, which would be in accordance with the EU acquis. National task force is designated regarding the establishment of an independent 2nd instance. Under the governmental decree the Ministry of Justice is responsible to prepare draft of law on administrative court system. Ministry of the Interior prefers a judicial 2nd instance. In the draft of the new amendment to the Act of Asylum and Civil Process Law are new provisions for the independent 2 nd instance. Under the proposals the responsibility for the second instance will be entrusted to the regional courts. B: Create appropriate conditions for the work of Appeal Commission If some concerns were expressed in Bled before the Appeal Commission started to work, it seemed to us that it was doing well in the actual framework. Members of the Commission get the whole file, have and take the opportunity to interview applicants before or during the session, have enough time to decide on the cases as most of them are just terminations of the procedure. Short term Suggestion: Divide the work of the secretariat from the Department for Asylum and Migration policy the decision-taking atmosphere. A. Comparative study of the different type of European models, which are available: MOJ 1 B. MOJ will explore TAIEX and other EU funding possibilities. 1 MOJ: Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic 20

21 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new 2. Clarification of the following regulations in the Drafts a) Safe Countries of Origin 1. Art. 2, Para 1 b The present formulation could be misleading, especially to the fact that the concept of safe country of origin is not applicable at all, when there is only one refugee. Issue addressed The Asylum Law, in its section 2, is now in accordance with the acquis. 2. Missing EU acquis elements : - stability and no prospect for dramatic change in immediate future - existence and function of democratic institutions The next two points haven t been incorporated in the new law. The new law therefore is not in accordance with the EU acquis. Practice is OK. Suggestion: The National Task Force could check, whether the provisions in the Act of Asylum are in accordance with the EU acquis regarding SCO/STC 2. 2 SCO=safe country of origin, STC=safe third country 21

22 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new b) Safe Third Countries Concept Obligation for the Czech authorities to seek assurance that the rejected asylum seeker on the basis of the safe third country notion will receive access to the refugee status determination procedure in the safe third country Inform the safe third country about the fact that the asylum seeker is readmitted because of the safe third country notion If it is not possible to readmit the asylum seeker according to the safe third country notion, it is advisable to channel him/her back into the standard Czech asylum procedure. There should be an amendment to Art 2 b): The foreigner had no objective possibility to apply for asylum in the safe third Issue addressed The law is now in accordance to the acquis concerning this notion. The principle is not used in practice. The problem has been indirectly solved with the mention, in section 2 b) of the law that a country shall not be a safe third country if the alien only transited through its The Department for Asylum and Migration Policies prepared a list of safe third countries. The Department can use the STC principle in practice according to Asylum Act. 22

23 country. territory. 23

24 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new c) Manifestly Unfounded Cases There should be clarified the distinction between the economic reasons and the situation of general need in Article 8, Para 1 Issue addressed Sufficient explanations have been given in the amendment to the NAP. The draft of the amendment to the Act of Asylum contains several additions to the existing reasons. These additions are based on the Resolution on Manifestly Unfounded Cases. Letter d) of this Para 1 should refer to the same facts/events not to similar reasons Issue addressed In fact due to the Czech legal speech similar reasons means in fact identical/same reasons. It is impossible to use the word same non-standard word, used only by common Czech, on the contrary the word identical is not the Czech word, it is an alien word, the legislator is obliged to use only the Czech words or terms. Agreed also by the present judge of the Czech High Court. 24

25 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new d) Unaccompanied Minors Add two important legal procedures dealing with EU Member States cooperation (i.e. procedures to expedite family reunification, procedure to determine the availability of reception facilities in Member States receiving refugees). Issue addressed New Act 359/1999 Dg. is in force since 1 st April 2000, stipulates the responsible body Office for international protection of children. Provides asylum seekers (= unaccompanied children) with legal and social support, cooperates with other similar state/international bodies, family unification is among the tasks of this Office. Nothing specific has been added to the laws. Suggestion: UNHCR &NGOs will monitor implementation. There is a specialised facility in Zastávka u Brna for minors from 15 to 18 and some family reunifications have been made possible with the help of UNHCR, Red Cross and IOM. 25

26 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new 26

27 3. Staff Structures could be considered as understaffed if the trend of increasing number of asylum seekers continues. Interviewing techniques, cultural awareness/differences, psychological training seen as need. Over-crowded offices mentioned as an issue. Regular medical check ups for interviewers MOI: 10 new persons have been hired. More employees were affected to the documentation center and a proper librarian has been employed so that all the documents are more exploitable in the future. More decision-makers are needed because of increasing numbers of asylum seekers. Training is offered in a number of fields incl. country of origin information training. Training done bilateral in conjunction with BAFl (Germany). Study visits to existing documentation center (Nuremberg). Department staffs are trained regarding new Asylum Act. Training was also organised for NGOs and other governmental bodies including the Aliens police. Suggestion: Concept for future education & training (short, medium, long-term) for each employee involved in the asylum procedure. Look to existing organisations such as UNHCR, the EU Commission and others for support. Suggestion: On the job training with UNHCR regarding elements of decision taking. Suggestion: Special training, as it is done in France and Germany, for conducting interviews with victims of torture, of sexual abuses, children, interviewing techniques, cultural differences, psychology. DAMP 3 : Training with Danish Immigration Service, UK embassy. Top management of DAMP will travel to the Netherlands and France. UNHCR training, discussion of new laws, problem cases. Training on language courses. Reception center staff well trained. Fact-finding missions. CIREA meetings on specific COIs. EU Commission training for police. Have a future meeting once training concepts have been written between trainers, sponsors and funders. There is also language training. 3 DAMP: Department for Asylum and Migration Policy 27

28 III. Post-procedural elements 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new Clarification of the following regulations in the Drafts Exclusion and Cessation Clauses Article 17, Para 1b refers to transfer of responsibility and should not result in a loss of refugee status. It seems to be a minor point in practice. It might be an interesting thing to include the number of applications of cessation clauses in the statistical reports. Czech MFA: 107 Council of Europe, on shared responsibility has signed and law will be changed regarding the withdrawal of status if same status is granted by another State. Pursuant to the Draft of the Amendment to the Act of Asylum the provision of the article 17 is in the full conformity with the 1951Geneva Convention (Art.17, Para 1 letter b) is proposed to be cancelled) 28

29 1. Identified needs improvements as listed in the NAP 2. Progress having been made (considering FWD, NAP, etc.) 3. Suggested steps for changes/improvements 4.Relevant existing 5.Identified new Toleration Status (Aliens Law) There should be clarified whether there is a possibility to work or social assistance is provided. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is responsible to solve the access of foreigners with TS to labour market. 29

30 IV. Other global elements taken into consideration during the mission 1) The National Task Force (NTF) NTF was established. Members of NTF: First Deputy Minister of Interior, First Deputy Minister of Justice, two judges of High Court, representative of the Senate. National Task Force will be mainly convened to deal with the 2nd instance matters mentioned above. 2) The future implementation of the Dublin Convention Progress has already been made in the planning of setting up a special unit for this question. It seems to the evaluating mission that one and a half year might not be enough to achieve all the necessary legal changes before the accession to the EU. Dublin will be dealt with at a later date as the legal and institutional framework is currently being discussed: Establishment of Dublin unit which will oversee its implementation and prepare the necessary framework for Dublin implementation. Legislative changes and amendment of Asylum Act. Training and preparation of staff has begun and will continue throughout the process leading up to EU accession. Suggestion: Workshops between Czech and EU Member State officials dealing with Dublin issues. 3) The role of NGOs. There has been progress in the practice. The role of the NGOs has been further strengthened especially in the field of providing accommodation for rejected asylum seekers, social and legal counseling. Role of NGOs exists in the Asylum Act in the following areas: legal, health, social support, and accommodation. NGOs can be sponsored by the state budget in certain areas. Certain activities, such as accommodation can be reimbursed or sponsored by the State to NGOs. Suggestions to provide further activities, which NGOs could assume, and that could be remunerated by the State. 30