On 6 October, the European Commission’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans visited the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in Malta, where he was hosted by Executive Director Jose Carreira for an update on the work of the agency and a tour of its premises.

This visit takes place exactly one week after the European Commission reported on the progress made on the EU’s relocation scheme and implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement, towards which EASO has contributed significantly. EASO officials briefed Mr Timmermans about the activities of EASO, in particular in Greece and Italy, and the situation of asylum in the EU.

During the visit, EASO’s Executive Director Jose Carreira said: “Taking stock of the developments to date, some 5,900 people have been relocated from Italy and Greece, and relocation transfers have accelerated with some 1,200 relocations in September alone. The results of our efforts are encouraging but much more solidarity is needed from Member States in order to achieve our targets. In particular, we need more relocation pledges from Member States, and more Member States experts deployed to EASO.” 

After his visit to EASO, the First Vice-President is scheduled to hold a Citizens’ Dialogue and a series of meetings with the Maltese Parliament and Government in view of the Maltese Presidency, which is set to kick off next January.

Any further information on EASO may be obtained by contacting Mr. Jean-Pierre Schembri on the following e-mail address: jean-pierre.schembri@easo.europa.eu  (follow us live on twitter @EASO).