EU agrees common asylum policy by 2010

Europe's Leaders yesterday promised to create a common asylum system by 2010 and backed a host of initiatives including a plan for a rapid reaction force of EU frontier guards.

At a summit in Brussels, EU heads of government agreed to boost exchanges of sensitive information, to co-ordinate laws on child maintenance and inheritance, and to axe the veto on all asylum and immigration matters except legal migration.

Although the use of majority voting in justice issues is sensitive, the UK backed the move because it has a separate opt-out on justice policy. That means that the Government can take part in negotiations but is not bound to implement the policies agreed.

That arrangement, described by Tony Blair as "the best of both worlds", is controversial in other EU countries, and yesterday Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which holds the EU presidency, called on Britain not to undermine agreed policies.

The Dutch premier said there had to be "one reality" in Europe on asylum and immigration policy, adding: "We are stressing the importance of following the same line. That is the message to the UK." British officials stressed that the UK has so far opted into all EU asylum and immigration decisions, and that Ireland and Denmark have similar arrangements.

Yesterday's agreement on a five-year work programme marks a significant acceleration of efforts to co-ordinate justice and home affairs policy at a pan-European level. In the wake of 11 September and the Madrid bombings, the ease of cross-border travel and the increase in drugs and human trafficking, leaders have concluded that the problems cannot be fought at a national level. The French president, Jacques Chirac, hailed the measures as "an important step towards harmonising our legislation and boosting Europe's efficiency in these matters". The EU's ambitious agenda also includes moves to enforce decisions on family law, including maintenance and inheritance, making it impossible to evade court orders by moving to another European country. Mr Balkenende said: "We will work on a European legal area where you cannot got off scot-free by absconding to another member state."

The initiatives have raised fears among some non-governmental organisations which are worried about the erosion of civil liberties. A spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said: "It is good to see the momentum stays, but it must be translated into real protection for refugees both inside and outside the EU," adding: "There is a lot of work to be done."

The document agreed yesterday argued: "Freedom, justice, control at the external borders, internal security and the prevention of terrorism should, henceforth, be considered indivisible within the Union as a whole." Though it calls for a study on the feasibility of creating "a European system of border guards", the agreement was only to establish teams of experts who can be parachuted into emergencies to offer advice.

The five-year blueprint gave no commitment to press ahead with controversial ideas, championed by Germany and Italy, to create EU asylum camps in north Africa. Instead it ordered a study on the possibility of joint processing of asylum applications outside EU territory.

After objections from the UK and other nations to the idea of an EU asylum agency, the document was watered down to include a reference to the possibility of a European "support office for all forms of co-operation between member states on asylum".

Other initiatives include a common visa policy, more investigative powers for the EU's police agency, Europol, and closer co-operation among national law enforcement agencies in case of terrorist attacks.