They present partnerships between the EU and governments of countries that host many refugees, notably Jordan, as evidence that "the embarrassment of the rich world can be leveraged into a solid system of international financing for the first countries of asylum".
Austria's conservative interior minister says EU plans to issue working permits for asylum seekers is "unthinkable". The UNHCR wants the EU to drop the planned first country of arrival principle and distribute asylum seekers among European Union member states.
The proposal, outlined in a letter to the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the commissioner for home affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos, is a radical departure from current EU policy, which forces asylum seekers to apply for asylum in their first country of entry, under legislation known as the Dublin law.
The Schengen accord provides for migrants to apply for asylum in the first country of landing from their point of departure in Kabul or Mogadishu or elsewhere.
"There are lots of ways to go, but it doesn't necessarily mean a fundamental change in the principles of Dublin," the source said, referring to the obligation to claim asylum in the first country of arrival.
Under the Dublin convention, refugees must apply for asylum in the first country of entry to Europe – a rule which Italy says is unfair as it leaves Rome to deal with the thousands of migrants washing up on its shores.
Southern countries want the option, in times of stress, to halt the return of asylum-seekers to their first country of entry.
The second principle is enshrined in the Dublin Regulation, which requires that asylum claims should be processed in their first country of arrival.
It will also seek to "examine additional measures that could be implemented to expedite third-country resettlement of asylum seekers and refugees within the centre".
The Dublin Regulation stipulates that asylum claims must be processed in the first country that the asylum-seeker reaches.
