Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

6. AGENCIES

6.1 The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing the European Asylum Support Office

“Support is our mission”

Basic information:

The EASO is the European agency formed on 1 February 2011, on the legal basis of Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 (hereinafter also referred to as ‘EASO Regulation’) of the precedent year, with its seat in Valetta (Malta). The EASO is a body of the European Union with its own legal personality (Article 40 of EASO Regulation) created to help to improve implementation of the Common European Asylum System (the CEAS), to strengthen the cooperation of Member States (‘MS’) on asylum, and provide support to MS whose asylum systems are under particular pressure (Article 1 of EASO Regulation). The EASO should act as an independent and impartial centre of expertise in asylum matters. It has no decision-making powers (Article 2(6) of EASO Regulation). The structure of the Office contains: • Management Board • Executive Director • staff, which contains currently about 300 members. The Management Board is composed of nominees of MS and of the Commission (one member is nominated by every MS, two by the Commission) and serves as a planning and monitoring authority. The Executive Director is appointed by the Management Board for five years; they are in charge of the day-to-day management. The EASO established a Consultative Forum for a dialogue with the civil society organisations. The EASO has the following main duties:  creating a platform for exchange of best practices in asylum matters  collecting information on countries of origin of asylum seekers (relevant for asylum proceedings) – system Country of Origin Information (COI)  gathering and analysing the wide scope of information about migration (provided to MS and the Commission) – Early warning and Preparedness System (EPS) Activities:

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