EU executive wants to fix asylum system

By Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday an overhaul of European Union asylum rules, saying it was necessary to fix a system that did not take enough care of refugees' needs.

The 27-nation bloc, which attracts large numbers of asylum seekers, has rules dictating that asylum seekers' requests must be examined in their EU country of entry.

Countries such as Malta and Cyprus, on the bloc's coastal borders, are struggling to handle high numbers of refugees often trying to reach larger EU states such as Britain and Germany, and have urged other EU countries to take a bigger share.

When a country cannot cope anymore, it should be allowed to ask Brussels to suspend returns of asylum seekers for up to six months, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

The European Commission also wants to allow EU states that think another member's asylum system is not up to standard to ask for a suspension of returns of asylum seekers to that state.

The EU executive could also decide to do so on its own initiative.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR urged the EU in April to stop returning asylum seekers to Greece because of harsh conditions and the low rate of asylum claims.

The proposal, which also aims at making it easier for refugees to work in the EU country they live in, needs to be agreed by EU governments and lawmakers to become law.