S.D.O. WORKSHOP ON ASYLUM POLICIES AND IMMIGRATION BORDER CONTROL FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

As part of its EU-related training strategy to support the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis, the Staff Development Organisation in the Prime Minister's Office is currently running three programmes on Asylum Policies and Immigration and Border Control, for three groups of Police and Immigration Officers.

These programmes focus on the instruments of the EU concerning admission of third-country nationals, the application of international rules on asylum within the EU, the Dublin Convention, the Schengen Information System, the detection of counterfeit travel documents, the EU common visa policy, the detection and removal of immigrants entering or staying in a country without authority, and procedures relating to refugee status.

These areas will assume greater significance in the coming months with the implementation of the acquis communautaire, in this particular case, the adoption of EU rules on Immigration and Border Control.

This initiative is, in fact, part of a process leading to the familiarisation and eventual adoption of these rules. Immigration Officers have a key role to play in this exercise and they require a clear understanding of the procedures connected with Asylum Policies, Immigration and Border Control.

The SDO has, for this purpose, and with the financial support of the French Embassy in Malta, invited three experts: Ms Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, Deputy Representative United Nations High Commission for Refugees; Mr Georg Ledig from the Munich Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees; and Mr Hans-Peter Wagner from the Kiel Border Police in Germany.

The speakers are providing an expert's account of EU rules on Immigration and Border Control as well as Asylum policies. In addition, manuals have been circulated to further familiarise participants with the Schengen Information System, the Dublin Convention, Asylum policies and other EU rules.

The programmes are being organised in collaboration with Centre for European Studies in Strasbourg, the Ministry for Home Affairs, and the French Embassy in Malta.