mr president i am really happy that we are now very close to a final adoption of the regulation establishing the european asylum support office
the commission proposed this back in february two thousand and nine and the council and parliament have been extremely committed to this
the establishment of a common asylum system has been an objective of the european union for many years and the commission and myself remain very committed to this objective
we must establish a system which is fair and efficient based on common standards and common principles
this system should also be based on solidarity and that means solidarity with the migrants with the countries of origin and transit and it also means solidarity between the member states
in order to strengthen the solidarity between the member states practical cooperation between the different authorities in the area of asylum is important as a part of forming the european asylum system
to enhance this practical cooperation the establishment of the asylum support office was requested by the european pact on asylum and migration of two thousand and eight and agreed in the stockholm programme in two thousand and nine
the support office will therefore be a cornerstone in the building of a common asylum system
the support office will as you all know be located in valletta
it will provide concrete and operational support to member states authorities and will facilitate the development of the necessary cooperation between the member states and the development of common practices
this will be achieved through training of individual persons dealing with asylum applications and through exchange of information and best practices
the support office will also provide assistance to member states under particular pressure by sending expert teams which can help with the registration of asylum applications
i would very much like to thank the european parliament and all the rapporteurs responsible for this mrs jean lambert of course for her work as well as mr moraes for the necessary amendments to the european refugee fund and all the co-rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs
your full and constant support has been extremely valuable and i am looking forward to working with you on the final steps before this office opens hopefully very soon
