EP gives green light to new common asylum system

The European Parliament on Wednesday gave the green light to a new common asylum system, aimed at ironing out procedure differences among EU member states, during its plenary session here in Strasbourg. The new system, set to enter into force in the second half of 2015, lays down common procedures and deadlines for handling asylum applications and basic rights for asylum seekers arriving in EU member states. In addition, Europol and member states' police forces will be granted access to asylum seekers' fingerprints in the database to help them fight against terrorism and serious crimes. "We now need to put in a great effort to implement the legislation and ensure this common system function well and uniformly," the EU's home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in response to the Parliament's endorsement. About 330,000 asylum applicants were registered in EU countries last year.