EU ministers have agreed on new asylum laws which the UN and human rights campaigners say may compromise refugees' rights.
The draft rules aim to harmonise procedures for seeking asylum inside the EU, to ensure genuine refugees can find a safe haven but to prevent economic migrants from abusing asylum systems to enter the wealthy countries.
After more than three years of talks, EU interior ministers raced to meet a deadline for agreeing the proposed rules by 1 May, the day the EU expands to 25 member states.
French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said having the same rules in all EU states would help to prevent abuse. Standard rules will reduce so-called asylum shopping, where immigrants favour one EU country over another.
The UN High Commission for Refugees has warned that countries on the fringes of Europe and in the developing world may not be able to guarantee safety or be too volatile to be trusted. It says the directive may encourage Europe to dump refugees onto the union's margins.
