European Asylum Support Office
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Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1 February 2011 |
Jurisdiction | European Union |
Headquarters | Valletta, Malta |
Motto | Support is Our Mission |
Agency executive | |
Key document | |
Website | easo.europa.eu |
Map | |
![]() ![]() Valletta European Asylum Support Office (European Union) |
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO)[1] is an agency created by European Union Regulation 439/2010 to increase the cooperation of EU member states on asylum, improve the implementation of the Common European Asylum System, and support member states under pressure.[2]
History[]
Founding[]
In 2008, the European Commission proposed the creation of an asylum office such as EASO to boost cooperation between member states in managing asylum requests.[3]
Malta's EU ministers for immigration in 2010 agreed for EASO to be based in Malta, following discussions surrounding the continuous immigration of illegal immigrants mostly from the Horn of Africa, who reach Europe after passing through Libya. On 30 November in Brussels, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, Malta was officially elected to host the organisation, winning out over candidates Cyprus and Bulgaria.[3]
The EASO regulation came into force on 19 June 2010 and was fully operational on 1 February 2011.[4]
Recent developments[]
The April 2015 Mediterranean Sea migrant shipwrecks led European leaders to reconsider their border control and migrant processing policies.[5] On 20 April, the European Commission proposed a 10-point plan that included EASO in the process of assisting asylum applicants and collecting information about smuggling operations.[6]
Following an unprecedented migrant influx, EASO in 2015 proposed a relocation programme that was agreed upon to support the ‘frontline’ Member States of Italy and Greece, whom were under pressure.[7]
"After a proposal made by the Commission in May 2015, the Council adopted two decisions – (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 respectively – establishing a temporary relocation mechanism for 160 000 applicants in need of international protection from Greece and Italy, to be implemented over two years until September 2017."[7]
In April 2016 the European Commission proposed to transform EASO into a European Union Agency for Asylum.[8]
The May 2016 trend report, illustrates a 5% drop in applications for international protection since April to 99,000. However, the overall number of international protection applications in the first 6 months of 2016 has exceeded those in 2015, surpassing 500,000 as compared to 350,000 in 2015.[9] The recent immigration crisis in Europe has seen most applications coming from conflict-heavy states like Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Syria was seen to have the most applications in May with 28,056 persons claiming protection, followed by Afghanistan with 15,648, and Iraq with 10,341.[9] However, recent trends show the slowing in momentum of applications from Syria.[9]
Furthermore, given the asylum seeker crisis within Europe, the EASO should consider the ‘pooling of reception places in times of emergency’ to encourage an EU approach to asylum seekers.[10]
Heijer and colleagues, have recommended that EASO should become the centralised organisation "encouraging more uniform decisions".[10] They also argue that the EASO should lead more Asylum Officer training.[10]
Activities[]
The purpose of the EASO is to facilitate the improved protection for asylum seekers and coordination between EU Member States.[11] In order to do so, it drafts instruction manuals and gathers statistical data from member states on asylum questions, and sets up teams of experts from different countries to assist in countries dealing with a sudden high influx of asylum-seekers. It has set up training modules for national asylum authorities.[12]
In the case of a large intake of asylum seekers within a specific country, EASO can provide temporary support. An operation plan is drawn up describing the goals of the plan, duration, geographical area and team responsibility.[13]
Management[]
Executive directors[]
- 2011–2015: Robert Visser[14][12]
- 2016–2018: José Carreira[15]
- 2018–2019: Jamil Addou (a.i.) [16]
- 2019–present: Nina Gregori
Operations[]
Between 2011 and 2014, EASO staff has doubled, from 42 to 84, and its annual budget increased from 8 to 14.5 million euros.[14][12] Between 2015 and 2016 its budget increased more than threefold, from 16 million to 53 million euros, and its staff grew from 93 to 125 people.[17]
Controversy[]
In 2018, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) launched an investigation into alleged misconduct in procurement procedures, irregularities in management of human resources and possible breaches of data protection at EASO. Shortly after, executive director José Carreira stepped down amid the investigation as well as allegations of staff harassment, including "psychological violence".[15][18]
See also[]
- European Border and Coast Guard Agency
- Asylum Migration and Integration Fund
- Asylum in the European Union
- European Asylum Curriculum
- Political Asylum
References[]
- ^ "Welcome to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO)". EASO.
- ^ "Common European Asylum System". European Commission.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "IMMIGRATION : MALTA TO HOST EU ASYLUM OFFICE". European Social Policy. 7 December 2009.
- ^ "EASO History | EUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE". www.easo.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "EU leaders call for emergency talks after 700 migrants drown off Libya". Reuters. 19 April 2015.
- ^ "European Commission – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Joint Foreign and Home Affairs Council: Ten point action plan on migration". europa.eu. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "2015 EASO annual report" (PDF).
- ^ "Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010" (PDF). European Commission. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "2016 Trend Report" (PDF).
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "EASO recommendations" (PDF).
- ^ "About Us | EUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE". www.easo.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Laurens Cerulus (20 October 2015), As refugee crisis flares, EU loses key leader Politico Europe.
- ^ "Action plan".
- ^ Jump up to: a b Laurens Cerulus (11 July 2012), Migration manager European Voice.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Jacopo Barigazzi (6 June 2018), EU asylum agency chief resigns amid bullying allegations Politico Europe.
- ^ Jacopo Barigazzi (18 October 2018), Boss of under-fire EU asylum agency pledges quick fix Politico Europe.
- ^ Jacopo Barigazzi (24 January 2018), Anti-fraud office investigates EU asylum agency director Politico Europe.
- ^ Michael Peel (7 June 2018), EU asylum agency head quits amid migration turmoil Financial Times.
External links[]
- Right of asylum in the European Union
- Politics of the European Union
- Illegal immigration to Europe
- Agencies of the European Union