Politics

Increased resources and strenghtened mandate

The asylum procedures regulation is a revision of an existing directive and aims at creating a harmonised asylum procedure in all member states. The purpose is to create a fast and effective system where the asylum seeker will have access to a fair and legally sound asylum process.

It is equally important that people who do not need international protection can be returned effectively to their country of origin.

The EU currently has an asylum office (European Asylum Support Office) that only has the possibility to offer limited support to member states. During this mandate we have been able to agree to significantly strengthen this agency. In the future the new EU asylum agency will get a significantly increased resources and a strengthened mandate.

The agency will be able to offer a much better operative support to member states in connection with crisis situations or large influx of asylum seekers. Together with the EU external action service the new agency will compile information about the situation for asylum seekers in countries around the world so that member states have the same information basis to base their determinations on. The agency will also monitor that all Member States fully comply with the commonly agreed asylum policy.