mr president i have listened carefully to the views expressed by members of this house
the asylum procedures directive is an essential element of the common european asylum system that will need to be established before the end of twenty twelve
the commission welcomes the commitment of the european parliament to proceed with the negotiations on the asylum procedures directive
as regards the negotiations in the council the commission appreciates the commitment of the member states to discuss the proposal in an open and constructive manner
several elements of the proposal proved nevertheless to be difficult indeed
thus to facilitate the adoption of the directive the commission intends to adopt a modified proposal before the start of the polish presidency
the commission's overall objective regarding this directive is to progress towards a common procedure and to facilitate more consistent and efficient application of procedural standards
the modified proposal will continue to promote respect for fundamental rights and high quality decision making at first instance which will result in solid decisions and faster conclusions of procedures hence leading to a reduction of costs
in the modified proposal the commission will aim to simplify certain provisions with a view to facilitating their application
the commission will continue to endeavour to ensure proper balance between fairness and efficiency of procedures
concerning specifically the financial impacts the commission fully understands the importance attached to the cost-related elements of this proposal and will continue to be attentive to the cost aspects during the next stages of the negotiations
let me close by stressing that the opinion of the european parliament is of course a key benchmark which will allow the commission to take into account parliament's position when preparing the modified proposal
we will continue to work with parliament and the council towards progress on this proposal within the context of the wider asylum package
