A/HRC/23/46 106. The Tampere European Council of 1999 agreed on the establishment of a Common European Asylum System. Under the Tampere programme, between 1999 and 2005, negotiations started on the creation of the Common European Asylum System, aiming to harmonise asylum procedures in the EU and develop higher standards of protection for asylum seekers. Several legislative measures harmonising common minimum standards for asylum at the EU level were adopted, the four most important being the Directive laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (Reception Conditions Directive, 2003/9/EC); the Directive on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted (Qualification Directive, 2004/83/EC); the Directive on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status (Asylum Procedures Directive, 2005/85/EC); and the Regulation establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national (Dublin Regulation, 343/2003). Additionally, the Council Regulation concerning the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin Convention (EURODAC Regulation, 2725/2000) provides that EU Member States shall take and transmit the fingerprints of every non -EU national above the age of 14 who asks for asylum in their territory, or who is apprehended for crossing their external border unauthorised. Furthermore, the Directive on minimu m standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof (Temporary Protection Directive, 2001/55/EC) allowed for a common EU response to a mass influx of displaced persons unable to return to their country of origin. 107. The Commission’s Policy Plan on Asylum, presented in June 2008, stated that three pillars underpin the development of the Common European Asylum System: First, bringing more harmonization to standards of protection by further aligning the EU States' asylum legislation, which would require amendments to the Reception Conditions Directive, the Asylum Procedures Directive and the Qualification Directive. Secondly, effective and wellsupported practical cooperation, including through the Asylum Support Office and thirdly, increased solidarity and sense of responsibility among EU States, and between the EU and non-EU countries. The need to improve the “Dublin” system and establish solidarity mechanisms was noted. 108. The EU Member States committed to establishing the Common European Asylum System by 2012. The Council and the European Parliament already reached agreement on the recasts of the Qualification Directive, the Reception Conditions Directive, and the Dublin Regulation, while negotiations on the recasts of the EURODAC Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Directive have entered their final phase, with agreement exp ected in spring 2013. 109. The recast of the Reception Conditions Directive provides detailed provisions for the detention of asylum seekers during the examination of their asylum application. Article 8(2) provides that when it proves necessary and on the basis of an individual assessment of each case, Member States may detain an asylum applicant, if other less coercive alternative measures cannot be applied effectively. Six grounds for detention are set out in article 8(3): in order to determine or verify identity or nationality; in order to determine those elements on which the application for international protection is based which could not be obtained in the absence of detention, in particular when there is a risk of absconding of the applicant; in order to decide on the applicant’s right to enter the territory; when he or she is detained subject to a return procedure under the Return Directive, and the Member State concerned can substantiate on the basis of objective criteria that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he or she is making the application for international protection merely in order 41