New Perspectives on the Common European Asylum System:
Ensuring Better Integration of Asylum Seekers in the EU

Key Speakers

	Dr. Robert Visser, Executive Director, European Asylum Support Office
	Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director, Human Rights Directorate, Council of Europe
	David Reisenzein, Liaison Officer, Frontex
	Kris Pollet, Senior Legal & Policy Officer, European Council of Refugees and Exiles
	Aspasia Papadopoulou, Senior Advocacy Officer, European Council of Refugees and Exiles
	Dr. Dirk Vanheule, Migration Law Professor, University of Antwerp
	Anne Dussart, Head of the Social Programs, Department Asylum and Migration, Caritas International Belgium

Asylum is granted to people fleeing persecution or serious harm in their own country and are in need of international protection. Granting asylum is an international obligation, first recognised in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees.

The Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which was reinforced by The Hague Programme (November 2004) and The Stockholm Programme (2009), aims to harmonise asylum procedures in the European Union, increase cooperation between EU states on managing their external borders and develop high standards of protection for asylum seekers. The number of asylum seekers in the EU-27 during 2011 reached just over 300,000, with the highest number being reported in France and Germany and as such, there is an urgent need to raise awareness.

The EU shares responsibility for managing refugees with non-EU countries and countries of first asylum. With the goal of improving the management of refugee flows and enhancing protection capacities in the regions from which many refugees originate, the EU is thus stepping up its collaboration with non-EU countries. To make this cooperation robust, the Commission undertook to develop the EU Regional Protection Programmes and Resettlement Schemes.

In 2009, the EU proposed to set up a European Asylum Support Office to regulate asylum applications as part of a drive to increase cooperation between EU States, and develop methodologies and tools for collection and analysis of the data on the implementation of EU asylum law in Member States. This is essential for policy and law makers to improve the quality and effectiveness of the CEAS.

This timely International Symposium will examine the current situation facing those who need asylum/protection and will assess the ongoing challenges that Europe is facing to increase the practical cooperation between member states, especially in relation to the collection of measurable data on asylum seekers. The Symposium offers a vital platform to incorporate gender considerations of vulnerable groups into the dialogue, as well as explore how policymakers can strike the balance vis-à-vis the challenges and tensions between protecting human rights and ensuring that immigration controls are not undermined.

The Symposium will support the exchange of ideas and encourage delegates to engage in thought-provoking topical debate with local and regional practitioners and policymakers at EU level.

Delegates will:

• Discuss new methods and tools for gathering comparative data on asylum seekers in Europe
• Understand current standards, procedures and decision making processes in identifying and assisting asylum seekers
• Explore possibilities for increasing cooperation between Member States and major stakeholders in improving reallocation and resettlement policies in Europe
• Exchange best practices from pivotal projects implemented in Europe

Programme

Who Should Attend?

• National Governmental Organisations
• Immigration Advisers
• Legal Advisers
• Local and Regional Government Departments and Bodies
• Regulatory Bodies
• Citizens Advice and Third Sector Practitioners
• Anti-Trafficking Practitioners
• Vulnerable Persons Coordinators
• Missing Persons Units
• Border Control Officials
• Port and Airport Authorities
• Asylum and Refugee Groups
• Health Treatment and Advisory Services
• Social Workers and Social Services Officers
• Social Inclusion Officers
• Public Health Authorities
• Asylum Team Managers
• Refugee and Asylum Support Officers
• Sheltered Housing Scheme Managers
• Local, Regional and National Health Services
• Social Care Professionals
• Private Sectors Employers
• Public Sector Employers
• Homelessness Assessment and Prevention Officers
• Housing Associations
• Employee Relations Advisers
• Legal Advisers Community Cohesion Officers
• Community Engagement Officers
• Community Relations Advisers
• Overseas Student Recruitment Officers
• Asylum and Immigration Tribunals
• Funding Councils
• Research Councils
• Campaigning Organisations
• International Organisations
• Academics