New EMN Study "Accurate, timely, interoperable? Data management in the asylum procedure"

The Study Synthesis Report provides a comparative overview of data management in the international protection procedure in the EU Member States and Norway.

A Study on data management in international protection procedure in the EU Member States and Norway mapped data collection by phases of international protection procedure and data categories, indicating that the majority of the data are collected in the early stages of the procedure. The findings show that all Member States and Norway collect general categories of data; name, date of birth, nationality, contact details, health status, photograph, fingerprints, data on family members in the Member States, vulnerabilities, and level of education. Data are primarily collected through traditional data collection, but some Member States also use "new" technologies such as social media analysis, mobile device analysis, and artificial intelligence.
 
The safeguards during the processing of data in relation to the assessment of their quality, but also in relation to data protection and the provision of information on data processing to applicants for international protection was highlighted throughout the Study. It was found that the assessment of data quality is performed through cross-checking of national and European databases, while a minor number of Member States also cross-check international databases.
 
The overview of the data management approaches also identified challenges in data management and highlighted the limitations in human and technological resources, as well as the interoperability of databases. As successful approaches to addressing these challenges, the Study singled out the strengthening of databases in order to ensure interoperability, then prioritizing and "channeling" applications for international protection and the development and implementation of contingency measures in situations of increasing the number of applicants for international protection. The possibility of fast adaptation of the procedure in the wake of unforeseen circumstances was evident in certain Member States and Norway in the wake of the COVID-19 disease, where the most significant changes have occurred in the digitization of data collection.
 
To download the Study click here.
To download the study Inform click here.
To download a Flash Report (one page) of the study click here.
 
In addition, EMN NCP Croatia has produced Information based on the Study that provides a comparative overview of the data management in the international protection procedure in the Republic of Croatia and the EU Member States and Norway, which can be downloaded here.

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