EU will create a Support Office in the field of asylum management

20 April 2008

On 18 April, the JHA Council adopted conclusions on practical cooperation which invite the Commission to come forward in the near future with proposals to provide adequate support for practical cooperation activities between Member States, including the creation of an Asylum Support Office which would provide for adequate structural and financial backing in order to guarantee the level of ambition necessary to complete the Common European Asylum System.

Vice President Barrot, Commissioner responsible for Freedom, Security and Justice said “As we look towards a future Common European Asylum System, it is essential that we develop greater convergence, not only of legislation, but also of practice. It is vital that asylum authorities of the Member States have at their disposal concrete support to answer their daily and operational needs. With such support Member States can share information, improve the quality of procedures and jointly find solutions to emergency situations such as mass arrivals of asylum seekers. The creation of a Support Office in the future should be considered as a concrete way to provide the necessary level of coordination and support to Member States efforts.”

The main goal of practical co-operation between asylum national administrations is to improve the quality and convergence of Member States decision-making, through, inter alia, exchange of good practice, joint training activities and the sharing of information on countries from which asylum seekers originate. This is in the interest of both the Members States and asylum-seekers. Better quality and convergence will contribute to level the EU asylum playing field and build a single asylum space which gives protection to those who require it and deal fairly and efficiently with those without protection requirements.

However, the current EU-framework does not yet provide enough structural support for practical cooperation. Many activities are carried out on an ad hoc basis, for instance through workshops and EC financed projects. The creation of a more permanent structure would provide possibilities to have adequate human and financial resources to ensure sustainability and better coordination of all the practical cooperation activities.

The Commission is currently carrying out a feasibility study to explore options to transform the current structures involved in practical cooperation into a European Support Office. Such an office could take over and systematically coordinate activities on Country of Origin Information, development of a common curriculum and exchange of best practice. Furthermore, it could incorporate a training facility for all parties involved in the asylum process and provide support to Member States' facing particular pressures, for instance by managing teams of asylum experts to be deployed to those Member States. Finally, it could play a role in the implementation of the Regional Protection Programmes and in the coordination of any new policy initiative adopted in the future, for instance regarding resettlement at the EU level.

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