Taking stock of its achievements in 2017 and lining out its work programme for 2018, the EASO Network of Reception Authorities, met in Malta at EASO HQ on 6 and 7 March 2018.
24 national contact points and experts from 21 Member States were joined by representatives from DG Home of the European Commission, UNHR and EPRA (European Platform of Reception Authorities) to discuss the latest developments at national and European level in terms of provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers. Participants also received detailed information on training opportunities and needs for national experts, data collection and operational support provided by EASO to Member States.
The network discussed different methodological options for its first pilot exchange programme, to be run in May 2018 in cooperation with EPRA (European Platform of Reception Agencies) and EASO. Culminating in a workshop to be organised in Warsaw on 6 and 7 June 2018, this exchange programme will focus on the theme of “Prevention measures and sanction regimes in reception centres – Reduction and withdrawal of material reception conditions in practice”. It will involve a group of four member states working together through field visits in a mutual support scheme aiming to foster the exchange of knowledge and good practices while actively contributing to build the capacity of host countries in precise aspects of policies and practices. The initial results of this scheme will feed into the Warsaw workshop.
Finally, the participants discussed its priorities for the second semester of 2018 during breakout sessions. Two strong topics of interest emerged from the discussions and will guide the work of the network (exchange programme, new practical tools, and thematic workshops) for the year to come: provision of information to asylum-seekers and monitoring and assessment of reception conditions.
The next plenary meeting of the Reception Network will take place in Brussels in December 2018.
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