EU: Serbia must adjust its system to join Eurodac

Oliver varhelji
EU COMMISSION/POOL/ AFP

The Western Balkans states cannot access Eurodac (EU asylum fingerprint database) data or keep their information in the system before joining the European Union, the bloc’s Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said on Wednesday.

Answering an MEP’s question, he added that Serbia, as a candidate country, should harmonise its legal, operational and technical systems to join Eurodac eventually.

“The harmonisation of the legal framework with Dublin Regulations (an EU law determining which EU member state is responsible for the examination of an asylum application) and Eurodac, mentioned in the Interior Ministry’s strategy, does not include the Eurodac database,” Várhelyi wrote to Özlem Demirel, a leftist MEP.

He referred to a document titled ‘(Serbia’s) Interior Ministry Strategy 2018-2023,’ drafted last year. It stipulates that Serbia would embrace Dublin Regulations and Eurodac provisions two years before joining the EU, seeking a legal base for itself and other Balkan states to enter the system before becoming a full member.

„Interoperation systems for migrants’ biometric registration are a part of an EU wider legacy about migrations and border management which the candidate countries must harmonise to be prepared for the EU membership,” Várhelyi said.

Eurodac established the EU asylum fingerprint database enabling member states to compare the fingerprints of asylum applicants to see whether they have previously applied for asylum or entered the EU irregularly via another member state.