Situation of Asylum in the EU and update on relocation activities Jean-Pierre Schembri EASO Spokesperson

Number of applications for international protection in EU+ countries October 2013 – October k 662k 1 070k in 2015 to date 2.4x 3% UAMs In October k

Overview: applications for international protection October 2015January - October 2015

Main countries of origin of applicants October 2015 January - October 2015

Top 25 countries of origin of applicants in October 2015

Regional overview: applications for international protection and the main countries of arrival

Number of claimed UAMS applicants in the EU+ countries March 2014 – October

Top 10 nationalities of claimed UAMs and share of total January - October 2015 (sorted by total number of applicants)

Recognition rate for selected nationalities, October 2014 to October 2015 (EU-regulated types of protection)

Number of pending cases at first instance in EU+ countries October 2014 to October %

Number of pending cases at first instance at the end of October 2015, by top 10 countries of origin

State of play of relocation operations in the hotspots

Who is eligible for relocation? Recognition rate* for key nationalities for relocation *Share of positive 1 st instance decisions granting international protection in the total number of 1 st instance decisions in the EU+ The last four quarters share is calculated over the most recent four quarters for which data are available for all EU 28 MS: i.e. 2014Q3 to 2015Q2. A threshold of 250 total decisions per year and 75 total decisions per quarter is applied. Source: Eurostat, no data available for Austria Syria 92%93% Eritrea 87%84% Iraq 81%85% Stateless 83%81% Central African Republic 87%

Some facts 34,953 to be relocated from IT ; 63,302 to be relocated form EL; 54,000 placed in pool for later allocation; Implementation over 2 years; Beneficiaries need to apply for asylum and be fingerprinted; No right to choose the m/s of relocation; The following are taken into consideration when matching profiles: (1) vulnerability (2) existence of relatives (3) language skills

EASO and the Hotspots: What do we do? Provision of information on the asylum procedures and on the relocation procedure to the persons disembarking, in order to inform applicants of the benefits of relocation (and on the asylum procedure in Italy and Greece. Registration of the application for international protection of persons eligible for relocation. This activity may include additional vulnerability assessment or preliminary nationality assessment. Matching of applicants with the most appropriate MS of Relocation and preparing the transfer to the MS of Relocation. EASO experts will assist the units processing such files as well with regular Dublin cases. Detecting fraudulent documents during the registration process of applicants for international protection.

EASO staff doing the registration EASO staff support the match-making exercise Departure of people to be relocated Arrival at destination Provision of information at the disembarkation points EASO and the Hotspots: How does it work? EASO staff taking people to the registration point in Lesvos

Current positions of EASO experts Italy Lampedusa; Villa Sikania (Agrigento); Milan; Rome; Catania (EURTF ) Greece Lesvos; Athens (EURTF)

EASO Hotspots in Greece Athens - EURTF Lesvos (Operational) Chios Samos Leros Kos EURTF

EASO Hotspots in Italy Catania - EURTF Lampedusa (Operational) Trapani Porto Empedocle Pozzallo Augusta Taranto

State of play on EASO work in the hotspots Total offered: 177 experts (tasks) from 374 requested (tasks) (based on initial needs assessments); Current needs are satisfied with some 30 experts already deployed; Further deployments will hinge upon scaling up the operations and technical infrastructure; Realities in IT and EL are different. Flexible and tailor- made approach needed; Changing reality on the ground

EASO asked for 374 experts, 177 have been pledged Member StateExperts offered by MSExperts currently deployed Austria452 Belgium152 Bulgaria1 Croatia2 Cyprus Czech Republic103 Denmark5 1 Estonia1 Finland1 1 France6 6 Germany142 Greece1 Hungary1 1 Ireland2 Italy Latvia Lithuania1 Luxembourg 6 Lichtenstein Malta2 Netherlands62 Poland Portugal Romania11 Slovakia2 Slovenia11 Spain30 Sweden23 UK10 Switzerland01 Norway22 Total EASO experts

Not all hotspots are as yet operational; logistical issues (IT, containers, etc); Capacity issues : the ability to process people; Reception issue; Coordination issues in the hotspots; Changing realities on the ground. Main Challenges for EASO

How are we trying to overcome these challenges? Focus more on relocation streams outside of hotspots per se; Deployment of mobile offices; Use of flexible tools such as mobile teams; Flexible and tailor-made approach is key to success;

Relocation Completed DestinationDepartureNo of persons Nationalities 9 OctoberSwedenItaly19Eritreans 21 OctoberSwedenItaly19Syrians 21 OctoberFinlandItaly48Eritreans 4 NovemberLuxembourgGreece30Syrians & Iraqis 5 NovemberFranceItaly19Eritreans 8 NovemberSpainItaly1211 Eritreans, 1 Syrian 13 NovemberGermanyItaly1111 persons (10 syrian, 1 Iraqi) 19 NovemberSwedenItaly11 Eritrean

Already some success stories Registration of Syrian Family Departure New home in Luxembourg

From words to action… Thanks for your attention