Vol. 491 No. 1
104 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 267 of 6 May 1998, he will make a statement on discussions at European level in relation to the operation of the Dublin Convention, in particular on any problems encountered in relation to the withdrawal of applications for asylum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11561/98]
Article 18 of the Dublin Convention provides for the setting up of a committee which will, inter alia, examine at the request of one or more of the member states any question of a general nature concerning the application or interpretation of the convention.
Issues of concern to member states are first considered in detail by a working party set up by the committee under Article 18.4 of the Convention. This working party is currently reviewing a number of issues raised by member states in this regard, including the application of the convention to withdraw asylum applications.
Where appropriate the committee will take decisions regarding the implementation or interpretation of the convention and such decisions are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Two decisions of the committee have already been published and details are set out in OJL 281, 14 October 1997.
