25.2.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 50/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 343/2003 of 18 February 2003 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for exam- ining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 63, first paragraph, point (1)(a), Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), Whereas: 1 A common policy on asylum, including a Common European Asylum System, is a constituent part of the European Union's objective of progressively establishing an area of freedom, security and justice open to those who, forced by circumstances, legitimately seek protec- tion in the Community. The European Council, at its special meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, agreed to work towards establishing a Common European Asylum System, based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951, as supplemented by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, thus ensuring that nobody is sent back to persecution, i.e. maintaining the principle of non-refou- lement. In this respect, and without affecting the respon- sibility criteria laid down in this Regulation, Member States, all respecting the principle of non-refoulement, are considered as safe countries for third-country nationals. The Tampere conclusions also stated that this system should include, in the short term, a clear and workable method for determining the Member State responsible for the examination of an asylum application. Such a method should be based on objective, fair criteria both for the Member States and for the persons concerned. It should, in particular, make it possible to determine rapidly the Member State responsible, so as to () O] C 304 E, 30.10.2001, p. 192. (%) Opinion of 9 April 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () 0] C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 28. guarantee effective access to the procedures for deter- mining refugee status and not to compromise the objec- tive of the rapid processing of asylum applications. As regards the introduction in successive phases of a common European asylum system that should lead, in the longer term, to a common procedure and a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for those granted asylum, it is appropriate at this stage, while making the necessary improvements in the light of experience, to confirm the principles underlying the Convention deter- mining the State responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the European Communities (¥), signed in Dublin on 15 June 1990 (hereinafter referred to as the Dublin Convention), whose implementation has stimulated the process of harmonising asylum policies. Family unity should be preserved in so far as this is compatible with the other objectives pursued by estab- lishing criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application. The processing together of the asylum applications of the members of one family by a single Member State makes it possible to ensure that the applications are examined thoroughly and the decisions taken in respect of them are consistent. Member States should be able to derogate from the responsibility criteria, so as to make it possible to bring family members together where this is necessary on humanitarian grounds. The progressive creation of an area without internal frontiers in which free movement of persons is guaran- teed in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community and the establishment of Commu- nity policies regarding the conditions of entry and stay of third country nationals, including common efforts towards the management of external borders, makes it necessary to strike a balance between responsibility criteria in a spirit of solidarity. () OJ C 254, 19.8.1997, p. 1.