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The EUAA is providing operational support to 10 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain. The EUAA’s support covers different facets of asylum, reception, relocation and temporary protection, and comes as the EU and its Member States prepare to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), which has operations in 10 Member States, has recently signed amended or new Operational Plans with eight of these countries. The new plans build on a years-long work to streamline and standardise the support the Agency provides to Member States, while also ensuring national authorities benefit from effective EU support. With the signatures of these plans, the EUAA continues to provide targeted support to Member States where protection systems are under pressure, either as the result of being at the forefront of migration flows, or because they need to cope with applications stemming from secondary movements.

Together with Spain and Germany, where the operational support was agreed on in 2023 and 2024, respectively; the EUAA is now present on the ground in 10 Member States and will deploy around 1 500 personnel throughout 2025. Separately, the Agency has closed its operations in Austria, Lithuania and Slovenia last year.

• Support to Asylum

The EUAA is expanding its operational support in Belgium, with new support provided to the national asylum system. The Agency plan includes support with access to the asylum procedure and the processing of Dublin cases, and with processing applications. The Agency will deploy up to 66 personnel in support of asylum processes and procedures in Belgium.

In Bulgaria, the Agency will help the national authorities develop and implement more standardised approaches to asylum processes. Building on previous work, the EUAA will also expand its support to the digitisation of case management files, thereby leading to more efficient processes. The Agency will deploy up to 12 personnel to assist with asylum processes in Bulgaria. In Romania, and building on its existing support, the EUAA will begin working to strengthen Romania’s capacity to handle the specific protection needs of unaccompanied minors.

In Cyprus, the EUAA will continue to support both the asylum and reception systems of the country, including workflows relating to access to the procedure and the processing of asylum applications, as well as the strengthening of reception capacity. The EUAA recently handed over 62 Reception Units to the national authorities, increasing capacity by 240 places. The Agency will deploy up to 90 experts to support asylum processes in Cyprus, together with up to 100 interpreters.

The EUAA will also provide targeted support to Italy, with the processing of accelerated border procedures at first and second instance. The Agency will deploy up to 130 personnel to support asylum processes. In Greece, the Agency will readjust its current and targeted intervention for one more year, with the deployment of up to 489 experts who will support asylum and reception related processes.

• Support to Reception

Building on existing efforts in the field of asylum, the Agency will also continue to support Italy in strengthening the overall quality of the reception system, including by assisting the national authorities in the regional allocation of applicants, primarily focusing on unaccompanied minors. The Agency will deploy up to 74 experts to assist the Italian authorities in reception-related processes. In Bulgaria, the Agency will expand its reception support with additional capacity, including by providing 10 housing and non-housing units to the national authorities.

In the Netherlands, the EUAA will continue assisting in managing arrivals into the reception system, with a focus on identifying vulnerable individuals and implementing child protection activities. In Spain, the EUAA is continuing its work with the national authorities. Since October 2024, the Agency has deployed 12 reception experts to the Canary Islands, where it is helping to strengthen reception systems, particularly with regard to training and unaccompanied minors, and where it will soon begin vulnerability support.

• Support to Relocation

In 2025, the EUAA will continue to support the five EU countries bordering the Mediterranean with the implementation of the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM). With the European Commission coordinating national pledges, the Agency has supported EU+ countries in relocating over 6 000 asylum applicants since October 2022. In Malta, the EUAA’s operational support to asylum and reception has been successfully phased out, and will now focus exclusively on relocation.

• Support to Temporary Protection

The Agency will continue to support Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain with the implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive. With the number of temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU countries remaining stable at 4.4 million, and with new registrations having decreased significantly, the EUAA will support registration where needed but aims at transitioning these processes to the full responsibility of these Member States’ national authorities.