A proposal due to be made today by the European Commission for the creation of a European Asylum Support Office has been welcomed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

"We hope that such a support office will help ensure more consistent and better quality asylum decision-making across the European Union," the UNHCR said.

It explained that asylum-seekers of similar backgrounds and profiles currently had widely varying prospects of finding protection in different member states of the European Union.

"For asylum-seekers from countries such as Iraq, Somalia or Afghanistan, for instance, these prospects can vary from zero percent to over 90 percent depending on the member state in which they lodge their application. In some cases, people in need of protection are not recognized as such, due to the narrow approach taken by some states to key issues, such as protection needs faced by people in situations of generalized violence."

The UNHCR said it believed that a European Asylum Support Office would strengthen practical cooperation and the sharing of good practice among member states. That would help to narrow differences between member states’ approaches to the application of EU asylum legislation and ultimately result in more consistent, fair and effective asylum systems across the EU.

It was important, however, that the new office had the mandate and resources to enable it to help member states to address many concrete challenges. This could include providing the services of experts, contributing to comparative analysis of the practice of states, or offering expertise regarding conditions in asylum seekers’ countries of origin or countries through which they travelled.