Checks at the border 'as a last resort'

SCHENGEN

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, demanded at the summit that issues of corruption be included among the criteria used to determine whether a country is ready to join the Schengen area.

The demand heightened fears by Bulgaria and Romania that their bid to join – delayed last December – would be further pushed back. But a diplomat said that the new, strengthened evaluation rules demanded by the leaders would become law well after Bulgaria and Romania had joined. The final summit statement does not explicitly mention corruption.

ASYLUM

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to creating a common asylum system by the end of next year but took a firm stand against any suspension mechanism for the Dublin II regulation. The regulation dictates that asylum claims are examined by the member state through which an asylum-seeker has entered the Union.

The European Commission has proposed a mechanism to suspend that provision because it wants to be able to give a reprieve to member states that are unable to cope with a surge in asylum applications, such as Greece. A recent ruling at the European Court of Human Rights has prompted most member states to suspend deportations to Greece, and the Commission wants such suspensions to apply across the EU.