Rationale for the Group for the Provision of Statistics (GPS) International Refugee Conference 7-9 October 2015 David Dowey Senior Data and Analysis Coordinator EASO European Asylum Support Office
Official versus Operational Statistics: What is the trade-off?
Official Statistics Basis Legislative; enforced compliance Regulation, Convention, Technical Guidelines What is the difference? Operational Statistics Working arrangement; Compliance through added value & common benefit Handbook, Operational definitions, guides, practice Basis Qualities Harmonisation through standards; revision cycle Validated, Accurate, Reliable: Ground truth Periodicity/Timeliness: Variable, provision lag Harmonisation through cooperation & coordination Actionable, granularity based on need Periodicity/Timeliness: Common, frequent, timely Qualities Practice Working Groups; Focus on commonalities Non-core business of provider (NSO/NSI for EU) Implemented with delay Networks; coordination meetings; online exchange Provider is key stakeholder: their daily business Flexible implementation; evolution on-the-fly Practice Outputs Statistical Reviews / Yearbooks / Official databases Evidence basis for policy formulation & evaluation Situational awareness / Snapshots / Online portals Evidence for early warning & preparedness; actionable insight delivered to key stakeholders Outputs
EASO Centre for Information, Documentation and Analysis CIDA Main activities Country of Origin Information (COI) Early warning and Preparedness System (EPS) Information and Documentation (IDS) Annual Report Practical Cooperation Research EPS: What is it for? To provide a comprehensive, accurate, timely statistical overview of asylum flows and related decision practices in the EU+ (EU 28 plus Norway and Switzerland)
Early warning and Preparedness System (EPS) EASO Regulation: Development of an Early warning and Preparedness System (EPS) Need reinforced in the recast of Dublin Regulation EU 604/2013 Analysis products Regular: Monthly/Quarterly/Annual Ad-hoc based on specific needs Data sources: Eurostat and EASO data Accurate, timely and complete monitoring of the practical functioning of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS)
EU Commission Member States EASO s Early warning and Preparedness System (EPS) Data on flows Training ng Operational support Early warning EASO Analysis Data on preparedness Key role for EASO Recast Dublin Regulation 604/2013 foresees the establishment of a European mechanism for early warning, preparedness and crisis management
International cooperation with other EU bodies to ensure coherence EUROSTAT (assessments of gaps and limitations of Eurostat data, joint revision of the Eurostat guidelines, ensuring that Eurostat-EPS data are complementary) Commission (monitoring of CEAS) Frontex (joint analysis and sharing of information) eu-lisa (Eurodac data as additional source) UNHCR (sharing of experiences)
International cooperation with other EU bodies to ensure coherence EUROSTAT (assessments of gaps and limitations of Eurostat data, joint revision of the Eurostat guidelines, ensuring that Eurostat-EPS data are complementary) Commission (monitoring of CEAS) Frontex (joint analysis and sharing of information) eu-lisa (Eurodac data as additional source) UNHCR (sharing of experiences)
Rationale for GPS: the needs for EPS? Incorporate established knowledge and best practices Don t reinvent the wheel How fast can operational data from the field be provided? Timeliness yes: but harmonise Develop in stages, prioritybased, remain flexible Give something back Operational Statistics Working arrangement; Compliance through added value & common benefit Handbook, Operational definitions, guides, practice Harmonisation through cooperation & coordination Actionable, granularity based on need Periodicity/Timeliness: Common, frequent, timely Networks; coordination meetings; online exchange Provider is key stakeholder: daily business Flexible implementation; evolution on-the-fly Situational awareness / Snapshots / Online portals Evidence for early warning & preparedness; actionable insight delivered to key stakeholders Basis Qualities Practice Outputs
GPS: How does it work? Developing the EPS data collection: step by step Indicator Aim Definition Actors collecting Questions Disaggregation Periodicity Timeliness Change from Status Quo Justification Problem examples New asylum applicants R epeated applicants Allows an estimate of the Euros tat Guidelines - EASO, EUROSTAT, Which MS follow PERSONS EASO: by citizens hip; EASO: weekly; EASO: within 7 This is THE key number of PERSONS making Applicants for international FRONTEX through their s ystems? What EUROSTAT: by EUROSTAT: working days; asylum indic ator asylum claims in EU protection (as defined by proportion of total persons citizenship, sex, age; monthly; EUROSTAT: showing new flows Art.2(g) of Council claiming are doing it for the first FRONTEX: by citizens hip FRONTEX: monthly within 2 of asylum seekers Direc tive 2004/83/EC) being a time? If s omeone is claiming and location of months; to the EU. As such, subject of first asylum after living several years in a applic ation FRONTEX: it is c rucial for application during the country or coming bac k to EU (border(land/air/sea), within 25 days early warning reference after having made a c laim inland) purposes to have period. The provision of several years ago will they be very timely, statis tics covered by this counted again? what proportion operational data s o table is voluntary for all of new claims is this likely to that EU-level countries, as the new represent? is it possible to see surges can be migration how many people make how detected and EUlevel statis tics legislation relates many claims or should we jus t to the broader group i.e. all ask for number of applications mechanisms /fundi persons having submitted an which are repeats (how do MS ng etc. can be application for international collect this data?). Post activated protection or having been EURODAC, can/do MS c ount EUROSTAT to revise the guidelines to included in s uch an persons after fingerprinting? ens ure: (a) Reinforce the concept to application as a count applicants and not applications family member in the (i.e. Family Members including children reference Table period of one of envisaged born after date of application); (b) month (Art.4.1(a)). Dublin cases are always reported as asylum seekers both in the country of application and in the eventual country of transfer, (c) Res ettled and relocated Shows burden of repeated No EU definition of the EASO Can we collect number by citizenship and weekly within 7 cases are not counted here as they are applications on the CEAS concept yet exists. EUROSTAT applications by applic ant? instance of repetition working days not asylum s eekers; (d) Clarify the and percentage of c laims guidelines mention that the following c ategories : (e1) appeals; (e2) that are duplic ated (claims differenc e between total and reopened cases (Nordic concept); (3) vs. applic ants) indicators new "should be interpreted" developed DG Home to provide a legal definition as giving a guide the of repeated applicant; (4) EASO will number of repeated adopt the s ame definition (5) EASO applicants ( as ylum proposes weekly data collection applicants being a s ubjec t of repeat asylum application during the reference period ). Proposal: A repeated applicant is somebody who reapplies for a second, third, etc time. That person can either bring in same grounds or new grounds (i.e. changed situation in c ountry of origin). The conc ept should also include applications for reopening the case (in s ome states repeated applications are not pos sible during a few years after rejec tion of claims, but persons can apply for re-opening of their c ase). Group for the Provision of Statistics A WB asylum seekers who returns each year to DE or different MS. How many times will he be counted as a new applic ant? An applicant who applies as being of a certain nationality but is later revealed t obe of another - how will they be counted? A family of 4 who repeat an applic ation 3 times. How many repeated applications will be counted? Questionnaire on statistical practice in Europe and on feasibility of indicators
GPS: How does it work? Implementation of indicators through life-cycle stages with feedback
Types of information collected through the GPS Scope of the EPS indicators Dublin
Types of information collected through the GPS Asylum applicants Citizenship, first-time/repeated, UAM, location Stock of pending cases Withdrawn applications Explicit withdrawal, implicit withdrawal First instance decisions Positive decisions granting international protection (refugee or subsidiary protection) Otherwise closed cases Access to procedure Dublin indicators Decisions received on outgoing requests Implementation of accepted outgoing requests Use of discretionary clause Art 17(1) of Dublin Reg. Returns Return decisions issued to rejected applicants Effective returns of rejected asylum applicants Number of persons in reception
Types of information collected through the GPS Example: First instance determination
Network benefits of GPS: why bother? The GPS network is unique: what is its added value? Gathering of experts Exchange of knowledge Common objectives Supranational group Practical guidance Economies of scale
Added value of indicators collected in the GPS Some examples: More timely than the Eurostat collection established by Article 4 of Migration Statistics Regulation (EC) 862/2007 up-to-date evaluation of changes in the situation at EU+ level Shorter periodicity for some key indicator breakdowns: First instance decisions Monitor decisions on gran ng protec on at the EU+ level, support for COI activities Claimed UAMs resource-intensive group (procedure, reception) Additional breakdowns and harmonisation of periodicity across indicators Improve the monitoring of relationships and trends in proportions
Giving back to GPS: regular monthly analysis reports Monthly Trend Analysis Reports: Latest trends based on EPS data; produced within one month after the end of the reporting month
Rationale for the Group for the Provision of Statistics (GPS) Thank you! Any Questions?... david.dowey@easo.europa.eu EASO-Data@easo.europa.eu