Robert Visser, the first executive director of the Malta-based European Asylum Support Office, will be stepping down in the coming weeks.

Dr Visser said he was doing so “with regret”, calling EASO “a very dynamic area that is of great interest and fascination to me”. EASO’s management board is now expected to issue a call for Dr Visser’s replacement.

A Dutch national, he was elected as executive director of EASO in 2010 for a five-year term. He set up the office from scratch and it now employs 100 staff members.

EASO – the first and only EU agency based in Malta – is responsible for the development of the EU’s Common European Asylum System.

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