Overview and summary of the obligations of the EU institutions and State authorities with regard to the Charter in the field of asylum. Proposals for possible improvements in EU legislation and policies

The right to asylum reveals a paradox in the application of the so called "Melloni principle", namely that what ultimately determines the identification of the applicable standard is the presence or absence of an EU legislative act aiming to harmonise national laws. In order to avoid a conflict between norms and the race to the bottom of protections, “The Union shall constitute an area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States” (Article 67 TFEU). Indeed, in the impact assessments prepared by the European Commission before the submission of a proposal for a legislative act, the impact on human rights is properly considered. However, in the following phases and especially during the negotiations between Parliament and Council, the need to find an agreement between the two institutions may prevail over the duty to respect the national standards on fundamental rights.- It could even happen – and this is precisely the case with asylum – that a representative of a Government in the Council is in favour of adopting an act aiming to harmonise national laws that clashes with a cumbersome fundamental principle of its Constitution, like the constitutional right of asylum. The Union could thus become the place to impose the decrease of the standard deriving from national constitutions in the name of the European harmonisation.