LUXEMBOURG, April 29: After more than three years of wrangling, the European Union agreed on Thursday to controversial asylum rules that the United Nations and human rights campaigners say may compromise the rights of refugees.

The draft rules aim to harmonise procedures for seeking asylum inside the EU to ensure genuine refugees can find safe haven, while preventing economic migrants abusing the system to enter the wealthy bloc for work.

"This is an important step in the fight against asylum shopping," said hardline German Interior Minister Otto Schily, whose country receives one of the largest refugee flows. EU interior ministers clinched a political compromise on the rules just days before the bloc expands to 25 member states on May 1, which they had set as a deadline. It will still need formal approval before entering into force.

"Great progress has been made with this directive (EU law)," said liberal Swedish Migration Minister Barbro Holmberg, noting refugees secured the right to an interview when seeking asylum and the right to appeal against rejection of their claim.

"These things ... are self-evident in Swedish law, but this actually raises the level across Europe, because that is not so obvious everywhere in Europe," she said. - Reuters