Sidorenko analyses and evaluates the state of affairs of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The conclusions of the European Council meeting of Tampere are taken as a 'measuring instrument' to assess the current developments of the CEAS. The implementation in practice of the EU asylum legislation is also evaluated.

For this purpose, the implications of the CEAS at a national level in an EU Member State are analysed. Slovakia, a new Member State, was chosen as an example due to its geographical location at the EU external border and the high number of asylum applicants present in this country. By examining EU and national asylum law against the background of international law (the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees), a well-balanced critique of the CEAS is offered which provides views and expectations concerning its future direction.