The Reception Conditions Directive. The updated Reception Conditions Directive (2013/33/EU) sets out common minimum standards for the reception of applicants for international protection across Member States. France is a territory in the EU state pursuant to Long standing protocol and agreement. Click Here.

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Reception conditions.

The updated Reception Conditions Directive (2013/33/EU) sets out common minimum standards for the reception of applicants for international protection across Member States.

Article 16

Vocational training

Member States may allow applicants access to vocational 

training irrespective of whether they have access to the labour 

market.

Access to vocational training relating to an employment 

contract shall depend on the extent to which the applicant 

has access to the labour market in accordance with Article 15.

Article 17

General rules on material reception conditions and health 

care

1. Member States shall ensure that material reception 

conditions are available to applicants when they make their 

application for international protection.

2. Member States shall ensure that material reception 

conditions provide an adequate standard of living for applicants, 

which guarantees their subsistence and protects their physical and mental health.

Member States shall ensure that that standard of living is met in 

the specific situation of vulnerable persons, in accordance with 

Article 21, as well as in relation to the situation of persons who 

are in detention.

3. Member States may make the provision of all or some of 

the material reception conditions and health care subject to the 

condition that applicants do not have sufficient means to have a 

standard of living adequate for their health and to enable their 

subsistence.

4. Member States may require applicants to cover or 

contribute to the cost of the material reception conditions 

and of the health care provided for in this Directive, pursuant 

to the provision of paragraph 3, if the applicants have sufficient 

resources, for example if they have been working for a 

reasonable period of time.

If it transpires that an applicant had sufficient means to cover 

material reception conditions and health care at the time when 

those basic needs were being covered, Member States may ask 

the applicant for a refund.

5. Where Member States provide material reception 

conditions in the form of financial allowances or vouchers, 

the amount thereof shall be determined on the basis of the 

level(s) established by the Member State concerned either by 

law or by the practice to ensure adequate standards of living 

for nationals. Member States may grant less favourable 

treatment to applicants compared with nationals in this 

respect, in particular where material support is partially 

provided in kind or where those level(s), applied for nationals, 

aim to ensure a standard of living higher than that prescribed 

for applicants under this Directive.   

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Article 18

Modalities for material reception conditions

1. Where housing is provided in kind, it should take one or 

a combination of the following forms:

(a) premises used for the purpose of housing applicants during 

the examination of an application for international 

protection made at the border or in transit zones;

(b) accommodation centres which guarantee an adequate 

standard of living;

(c) private houses, flats, hotels or other premises adapted for housing applicants.

2. Without prejudice to any specific conditions of detention 

as provided for in Articles 10 and 11, in relation to housing 

referred to in paragraph 1(a), (b) and (c) of this Article Member 

States shall ensure that:

(a) applicants are guaranteed protection of their family life;

(b) applicants have the possibility of communicating with 

relatives, legal advisers or counsellors, persons representing 

UNHCR and other relevant national, international and non-

governmental organisations and bodies;

(c) family members, legal advisers or counsellors, persons 

representing UNHCR and relevant non-governmental 

organisations recognised by the Member State concerned 

are granted access in order to assist the applicants. Limits 

on such access may be imposed only on grounds relating to 

the security of the premises and of the applicants.

3. Member States shall take into consideration gender and 

age-specific concerns and the situation of vulnerable persons in 

relation to applicants within the premises and accommodation 

centres referred to in paragraph 1(a) and (b).

4. Member States shall take appropriate measures to prevent 

assault and gender-based violence, including sexual assault and 

harassment, within the premises and accommodation centres 

referred to in paragraph 1(a) and (b).

5. Member States shall ensure, as far as possible, that 

dependent adult applicants with special reception needs are 

accommodated together with close adult relatives who are 

already present in the same Member State and who are 

responsible for them whether by law or by the practice of 

the Member State concerned.

6. Member States shall ensure that transfers of applicants 

from one housing facility to another take place only when 

necessary. Member States shall provide for the possibility for 

applicants to inform their legal advisers or counsellors of the 

transfer and of their new address.

7. Persons working in accommodation centres shall be 

adequately trained and shall be bound by the confidentiality 

rules provided for in national law in relation to any information 

they obtain in the course of their work.

8. Member States may involve applicants in managing the 

material resources and non-material aspects of life in the centre 

through an advisory board or council representing residents.

The Reception Conditions Directive

The Reception Conditions DirectiveSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN••• aims at ensuring common standards of reception conditions throughout the EU.

The Directive:

• ensures that applicants have access to housing, food, clothing, health care, education for minors and access to employment (within a maximum period of 9 months)
• provides particular attention to vulnerable persons, especially unaccompanied minors and victims of torture. EU countries must conduct an individual assessment to identify the special reception needs of vulnerable persons and to ensure that vulnerable asylum seekers can access medical and psychological support.
• includes rules regarding detention of asylum seekers and consider alternatives of detention in full respect of the fundamental rights.

The revised Reception Conditions Directive proposal

The current Reception Conditions Directive still leaves a margin of discretion to Member States to choose the most adequate way to provide material reception conditions to ensure the protection of human dignity in accordance with the Charter of fundamental rights. The migratory crisis has exposed the need to ensure greater consistency in reception conditions across the EU and the need to be better prepared to deal with large migration influxes. The Commission, therefore, presented in 2016 a proposalSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN••• to revise the Reception Conditions Directive to further harmonise reception conditions throughout the EU and to reduce the incentives for secondary movements. The proposal also aims at increasing applicants' self-reliance and possible integration prospects by reducing the time-limit for access to the labour market.

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Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection

The Commission supports a quick adoption of the text of the political compromise agreed upon by the European Parliament and the Council in 2018.

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

 Context and reasons for the proposal

The EU is working towards an integrated, sustainable and holistic EU migration policy based 

on solidarity and fair sharing of responsibilities and which can function effectively both in 

times of calm and crisis. Since the adoption of the European Agenda on Migration1

, the 

European Commission has been working to implement measures to address both the 

immediate and the long-term challenges of managing migration flows effectively and 

comprehensively.

The Common European Asylum System is based on rules determining the Member State 

responsible for applicants for international protection (including an asylum fingerprint 

database), common standards for asylum procedures, reception conditions, the recognition 

and protection of beneficiaries of international protection. In addition, a European Asylum 

Support Office supports Member States in the implementation of the Common European 

Asylum System. 

Notwithstanding the significant progress that has been made in the development of the 

Common European Asylum System, there are still notable differences between the Member 

States in the types of procedures used, the reception conditions provided to applicants, the 

recognition rates and the type of protection granted to beneficiaries of international protection. 

These divergences contribute to secondary movements and asylum shopping, create pull 

factors, and ultimately lead to an uneven distribution among the Member States of the 

responsibility to offer protection to those in need. 

Recent large scale arrivals have shown that Europe needs an effective and efficient asylum 

system able to assure a fair and sustainable sharing of responsibility between Member States, 

to provide sufficient and decent reception conditions throughout the EU, to process quickly 

and effectively asylum claims lodged in the EU, and to ensure the quality of the decisions 

made so that those who are in need of international protection effectively obtain it. At the 

same time, the EU needs to address irregular and dangerous movements and put an end to the 

business model of smugglers. To this end asylum applications of those who are not entitled to 

international protection must on the one hand be dealt with quickly and these migrants must 

then be returned quickly. On the other hand, safe and legal ways to the EU for those from 

third countries who need protection need to be opened. This is also part of a wider partnership 

with priority countries of origin and transit.

On 6 April 2016, the Commission set out its priorities for a structural reform of the European 

asylum and migration framework in its Communication 'Towards a reform of the Common 

European Asylum System and enhancing legal avenues to Europe'2

, outlining the different 

steps to be taken towards a more humane, fair and efficient European asylum policy as well as

On 4 May 2016, the Commission presented a first set of proposals to reform the Common 

European Asylum System delivering on three priorities identified in its Communication: 

establishing a sustainable and fair Dublin system for determining the Member State 

responsible for examining asylum applications3

, reinforcing the Eurodac system to better 

monitor secondary movements and facilitate the fight against irregular migration4

and 

establishing a genuine European Union Agency for Asylum to ensure the well-functioning of 

the European asylum system5

.

These proposals were the first building blocks to reform the structure of the Common 

European Asylum System. 

With the second package, the Commission is completing the reform of the Common European 

Asylum System by adopting four additional proposals: a proposal replacing the Asylum 

Procedures Directive with a Regulation6

, harmonising the current disparate procedural 

arrangements in all Member States and creating a genuine common procedure; a proposal 

replacing the Qualification Directive7 with a Regulation8

, setting uniform standards for the 

recognition of persons in need of protection and the rights granted to beneficiaries of 

international protection as well as a proposal revising the Reception Conditions Directive9

to 

further harmonise reception conditions in the EU, increase applicants' integration prospects 

and decrease secondary movements. Finally, following-up on the commitment to enhance 

legal avenues to the EU as announced on 6 April 2016, the Commission is also proposing a 

structured Union resettlement framework, moving towards a more managed approach to 

international protection within the EU, ensuring orderly and safe pathways to the EU for 

persons in need of international protection, with the aim of progressively reducing the 

incentives for irregular arrivals10

.

These proposals are an indispensable part of the comprehensive reform of the Common 

European Asylum System and are closely interlinked. With this second stage of legislative 

proposals reforming the asylum acquis, all the elements required to put in place a solid, 

coherent and integrated Common European Asylum System, based on common, harmonised 

rules that are both effective and protective, fully in line with the Geneva Convention, are now 

on the table.

The Common European Asylum System that we are further developing is both effective and 

protective and is designed to ensure full convergence between the national asylum systems, 

decreasing incentives for secondary movements, strenghtening mutual trust between Member 

States and leading overall to a well functioning Dublin system.

It guarantees that asylum seekers are treated, wherever they are in the EU, in an equal and 

appropriate manner. It provides for the tools needed to ensure quick identification of persons 

in genuine need of international protection and return of those who do not have protection 

needs. It is generous to the most vulnerable and strict towards potential abuse, while always

respecting fundamental rights. The common system is finally cost-effective and flexible 

enough to adapt to the complex challenges Member States have in this area. 

Objectives of the present proposal

As part of this second set of asylum policy reforms, the Commission is proposing a recast of 

Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying 

down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection11

. 

The Reception Conditions Directive provides for minimum harmonisation of standards for the 

reception of applicants for international protection in the EU. Reception conditions however 

continue to vary considerably between Member States both in terms of how the reception 

system is organised and in terms of the standards provided to applicants. 

The migratory crisis has exposed the need to ensure greater consistency in reception 

conditions across the EU and the need for Member States to be better prepared to deal with 

disproportionate numbers of migrants. There are wide divergences in the level of reception 

conditions provided by the Member States. In some Member States, there have been persistent 

problems in ensuring adherence to the reception standards required for a dignified treatment 

of applicants, while in others the standards provided are more generous. This has contributed 

to secondary movements and has put pressure on certain Member States in particular. 

In view of this, this proposal aims to:

(1) Further harmonise reception conditions in the EU. This will both ensure that the 

treatment of applicants is dignified across the EU, in accordance with fundamental 

rights and rights of the child, including in Member States where there have been 

persistent problems in ensuring such dignified treatment, and reduce reception-

related incentives for applicants to move irregularly to and within the EU, in 

particular to Member States where reception conditions are generally of a high 

standard. It will also contribute to a fairer distribution of applicants between the 

Member States. This will in particular be done by requiring Member States to take 

into account operational standards and indicators on reception conditions developed 

at EU level and by requiring Member States to have contingency plans ready to 

ensure the adequate reception of applicants in cases where they are confronted with a 

disproportionate number of applicants.

(2) Reduce incentives for secondary movements. To ensure an orderly management of 

migration flows, facilitate the determination of the Member State responsible and to 

prevent secondary movements, it is essential that the applicants remain in the 

Member State which is responsible for them and do not abscond. This obligation on 

applicants is set out in the proposed reform of the Dublin Regulation. The 

introduction of more targeted restrictions to the applicants' freedom of movement and 

strict consequences when such restrictions are not complied with will contribute to 

more effective monitoring of the applicants' whereabouts. Further harmonisation of 

possibilities to assign a specific place of residence to applicants, to impose reporting 

obligations and to provide material reception conditions only in kind is also 

necessary to create a more predictable situation for applicants, to ensure that they are 

accounted for regardless of which Member State they are present in and to deter....for more read the whole document here.  

The Commission, therefore, presented in 2016 a proposa