The EUAA has unveiled its annual Training Report. In 2023, with nearly 14 000 attendees, the Agency witnessed record levels of engagement in its training and professional development services. The report finds a significant uptake of training by the Member States most exposed to irregular arrivals as well as increased use of permanent support by the countries often associated with secondary movements. The notable uptake foreshadows the EUAA’s role as a critical pillar of a reformed Common European Asylum System.

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has published its annual EUAA Training Report. In 2023, the Agency organised nearly 1 000 training sessions, in which almost 7 600 individual learners took part. Pointing to the significant success of its initiative to strengthen the training capacity within national asylum systems, including providing certified training for national trainers; two-fifths of all training sessions were organised by EU+ national asylum and reception authorities, with the remaining – nearly 600 sessions – organised by the Agency itself.

In 2023, training took place in all 13 Member States in which the Agency was deployed to provide operational support to their national asylum, reception, or temporary protection systems. In fact, over three-fifths of all attendance (63 %) took place in the context of EUAA operational support; with Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain being the main beneficiaries. Moreover, significant increases in training in EUAA operations were observed, not only in countries affected by arrivals by sea, but also in Bulgaria, Czechia, Lithuania and the Netherlands; each country facing different challenges stemming from the increased protection needs observed in 2023.

Furthermore, the strategic decision to make foundational training modules available as online-only courses – originally taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic – has paid off, notably by improving their availability to operationally deployed personnel. Indeed, in 2023, over a third of attendees in EUAA operations (36 %) focused on foundational modules. These include the legal framework on fundamental rights and international protection in the EU, communication for asylum and reception practitioners, and introductory modules on vulnerability. Learners can then extend their knowledge by taking part in more in-depth modules, for example, to provide support to victims of trafficking in human beings.

In addition to the significant amount of training that is provided as part of EUAA operations in Member States under pressure; nearly a third (32 %) of the overall participations took place as part of the permanent training support available to all EU countries. In this context, not only did the Agency observe a 45 % increase in the level of participation, compared to 2022; the number of training sessions delivered by the national authorities themselves went up by almost half (47 %). The Netherlands was the leading EU country in this respect. Other key beneficiaries included Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium; in fact, the latter saw the level of attendance almost double (+87 %), since 2022.

Key areas of training under the permanent support framework included how to interview vulnerable persons; assessing evidence presented to back-up asylum claims, asylum interview techniques and reception of asylum seekers. Taken together, these are critical skills for successfully implementing the upcoming rules of the Pact on Migration and Asylum which recently entered into force and will become applicable in two years’ time.