The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the Government of Greece have signed a new Operational Plan outlining the technical and operational support measures that the Organization will implement in this country in 2018. The 2018 Operational Plan was signed by its Minister of Immigration Policy Of Greece Ioannis Mouzalas and by the Executive Director of EASO José Carreira.
The agreement is based on the existing operational support of EASO in Greece and aims to maintain the Agency's support for dealing with the extraordinary pressure on the country's asylum and reception systems in the implementation of the Community acquis on asylum.
Commenting on the new agreement, the Director of EASO said that Greece's response to the unprecedented pressures facing its asylum and reception systems in recent years "was commendable". "Since 2011", he noted, "EASO is increasing its operational support to the Greek authorities, in order to help alleviate these pressures".
"Today's agreement updates this support and adapts to the current needs of our Greek partners, thus ensuring that the value of EASO assistance is maximized," he said.
The 2018 business plan sets out 10 meters, divided into three priority areas:
- Support for the asylum procedure;
- Reception support. and
- Capacity building for the implementation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS)
The measures cover a wide range of activities, which EASO will implement throughout the year. These include supporting the implementation of the EU-Turkey Declaration by improving the efficiency of the asylum process, supporting the Dublin processing, supporting capacity building through training and laboratories, and strengthening the capacity of the Reception and Registration Office, assess and manage vulnerable applicants.
EASO 's presence in Greece has increased significantly over the past year, with more than 300 employees currently developing in the country. EASO and Greece are currently in the process of negotiating a Hosting Arrangement, which will determine the legal details that will formalize the Organization's presence in the country after the conclusion of a similar agreement with Italy.
Source: KYPE
Source: RIK News