The European Commission yesterday announced that by the end of this year it will be proposing the setting up of a new asylum agency to help member states manage immigration and refugee flows.
Launching two separate policy documents on immigration and asylum, the Commission said it will be putting forward a legislative proposal for the creation of the European Asylum Support Office.
Commission sources said the new agency will provide practical assistance to member states in taking decisions on asylum claims.
Almost all illegal immigrants landing on Malta's shores apply for refugee status.
In its Communication On Immigration, A Common Immigration Policy: Principles, Actions And Tools, the EU executive outlines its view on how to further develop the common European immigration policy and calls on the European Council to endorse 10 proposed common principles together with a selection of concrete actions.
The 10 common principles include the need to have clear rules and a level playing field in immigration matters all over the EU, an objective to match immigrants' skills and Europe's economic needs and to step up the fight against illegal immigration.
The Commission said that the common immigration policy is to be delivered in partnership by the member states and the EU institutions. It will be followed up regularly through a new monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
The October EU summit will be dedicated to migration policy.
Adopting a separate Policy Plan On Asylum, Brussels listed the measures that it intends to propose in order to complete the second phase of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).
The first phase of the CEAS saw the adoption of a number of legal instruments establishing common minimum standards in areas such as reception conditions for asylum seekers, asylum procedures and the requirements to qualify as a person needing international protection, as well as rules for the determination of the member state responsible for an asylum application - the so-called Dublin system.
The Policy Plan proposes to improve definition of standards of protection by amending the existing legal instruments. At the same time, it acknowledges that legal convergence must be complemented by adequate practical cooperation mechanisms including exchange of information and best practices and common trainings, if convergence in asylum decisions and equality of protection across the EU are to be reached.
The two policy documents will now be discussed by member states.