The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) is an agency created by European Union Regulation 439/2010 within the

area of freedom, security and justice The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by col ...

framework to increase the cooperation of EU member states on asylum, improve the implementation of the Common European Asylum System, and support

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

under pressure.

History

Founding

In 2008, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

proposed the creation of European Asylum Support Office (EASO) to boost cooperation between member states in managing asylum requests. On 30 November 2010 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, at the

Justice and Home Affairs Council The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the justice and home affairs ministers of the 27 European Union member states. Composition JHA is composed of the just ...

, Malta was officially selected to host the organisation, winning out over candidates Cyprus and Bulgaria. The EASO regulation came into force on 19 June 2010 and was fully operational on 1 February 2011.

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. 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. The April 2015 Mediterranean Sea migrant shipwrecks led European leaders to reconsider their border control and migrant processing policies. On 20 April, the

proposed a 10-point plan that included EASO in the process of assisting asylum applicants and collecting information about smuggling operations. Following an unprecedented migrant influx, EASO in 2015 proposed a relocation programme that was agreed upon to support the 'frontline' Member States of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, who were under pressure.

"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."

Proposed Transformation

In April 2016 the

proposed to transform EASO into a European Union Agency for Asylum. 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. The recent immigration crisis in Europe has seen most applications coming from conflict-heavy states like

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. 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. However, recent trends show the slowing in momentum of applications from Syria. 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. Heijer and colleagues, have recommended that EASO should become the centralised organisation "encouraging more uniform decisions". They also argue that the EASO should lead more Asylum Officer training.

Controversy and fraud

In 2018, the

European Anti-Fraud Office The European Anti-Fraud Office (commonly known as OLAF, from the ) is a body mandated by the European Union (EU) with protecting the Union's financial interests. It was founded on 28 April 1999, under the European Commission Decision 1999/352. ...

(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".

A reinforced mandate: EUAA

As of the 19th of January 2022, EASO adopted a reinforced mandate to become the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

New anonymous allegations

Again in September 2022, an anonymous group of staff alleged serious fraud and nepotism to OLAF, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. Most senior managers, Nina Gregori, Mark Camilleri and Gerardo Knouse, amongst others, are accused of grave misconduct. The Agency has vehemently denied the allegations, which have not been corroborated by any EU control body, to date.

Management

Executive directors

* 2011–2015: Robert VisserLaurens Cerulus (11 July 2012)
Migration manager
'' European Voice''.Laurens Cerulus (20 October 2015)
As refugee crisis flares, EU loses key leader
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization '' Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

''. * 2016–2018: José CarreiraJacopo Barigazzi (6 June 2018)
EU asylum agency chief resigns amid bullying allegations
''

''. * 2018–2019: Jamil Addou (a.i.) * 2019–present: Nina Gregori

References

External links

European regulation "Dublin II"

Information Report on the European policy on asylum
by Thierry Mariani {{DEFAULTSORT:Asylum In The European Union Right of asylum in the European Union Politics of the European Union Illegal immigration to Europe Agencies of the European Union