Although the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) came into force on June 12th, the majority of migrants arriving at the German border were not previously registered. This finding was reported by the newspaper “Spiegel”. According to the Federal Police, in the first two months under CEAS, 7,314 entry attempts were registered. Of these, only 112-representing just 1.5 percent-had a prior entry in the Eurodac database. This database is used to store the fingerprints and personal data of all asylum seekers who are apprehended or report to authorities anywhere in Europe.
In the past, heavily burdened EU outer border states had apparently failed to adhere to this system, which allowed migrants to avoid being returned to them if they were already registered in Eurodac.
The Federal Police stated that it is still too early to evaluate how the asylum reform is influencing migration trends. Migration researcher Daniel Thym, based in Constance, added that, while cautious, the current figures do not suggest a major change prompted by CEAS.
