The proposal includes an option to recognise certain regions - rather than whole states as is the case now - as fit for returns, even of asylum seekers
(Makes clear proposal not adopted official German policy, French denial of involvement, text edited throughout)
By Tom Körkemeier and Gabriela Baczynska
BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - German officials have proposed that the European Union might lower some human rights safeguards to let more asylum seekers be deported before having their cases heard, according to a working paper seen by Reuters.
France's mission to the EU denied French officials worked on the paper, which diplomats from several states said was among numerous discussion documents circulating in Brussels as the bloc tries to agree measures to deal with a possible repeat of the surge in Syrian and other refugees in Greece in 2015-16.
The paper said the option would only kick in at times of a "mass influx" of people to the bloc. It comes as the EU is persistently making it harder for migrants and refugees alike to get in and be allowed to stay.
While the EU says it has the right to send away all economic migrants if it chooses, its existing laws on human rights say asylum seekers awaiting a ruling on their cases can only be deported to countries that meet certain conditions.
Returning asylum seekers was a key element of a year-old EU-Turkey agreement that the document described as a "game changer", as it cut drastically the number of people - mostly Syrian refugees - making it to Europe.
But few other EU neighbours could be seen as meeting the criteria, which include safety from persecution, humane reception conditions, and at least partial access to medical care, education and the labour market.
The authors proposed diluting those, saying in the paper that the EU's asylum system "must be designed in a flexible way, and it must be capable of coping with any eventuality".
"This is not about building a 'fortress Europe'. It is about combating illegal immigration, which has already cost the lives of thousands, and about replacing it by a regulated system of legal admissions, combined with humane living conditions, assured by the EU in third countries."
The Turkish deal - which has been criticised by rights groups as cutting corners on human rights and for bumpy implementation that put people's lives at risk - should serve as a blueprint for the future, the paper suggested.
It said extending the options for deportation - including of asylum seekers - would discourage people-smuggling to Europe. The bloc would also provide funds to improve conditions for refugees and migrants in those third countries that receive such people.
Specifically, the proposal also includes an option to recognise certain regions - rather than whole states as is the case now - as fit for people, including asylum seekers, to be sent back to.
It said such new rules would still meet the basic criteria of the Geneva Convention on the rights of refugees, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, but would rescind secondary EU laws offering more safeguards.
Mass expulsions would still be prohibited and receiving third countries would still have to guarantee decent living conditions for deported asylum seekers, as well as ensure that the people the EU sends there are not pushed further towards places where their lives could be at risk. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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