Author
| Name in English | Number of staff | Ministry responsible | Is there any political interference possible by the responsible Minister with the decision making in individual cases by the determining authority? |
| International Protection Agency (IPA) | 22[1] | Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment | Yes |
The International Protection Agency (IPA) is the authority responsible for examining and determining applications for international protection at first instance.[2] The IPA is a specialised authority in the field of asylum. However, it falls under the Ministry also responsible for Police, Immigration, Correctional Services and National Security.
The IPA is still far from being able to carry its mission autonomously and, up to the moment, heavily relies on the support provided by the European Union Agency for Asylum. In 2023, the IPA had 3 officials drafting decisions out of the 22 staff total staff employed. This is less than previous years, in 2020, the IPA employed 28 staff, among them 19 are caseworkers. Out of these, 5 were in charge of drafting decisions on asylum applications. At the end 2022, IPA had a total staff of 21 persons: 2 conducing first instance interviews and 4 taking decisions or making final recommendations.[4] According to the Home Affairs Ministry, by the end of 2023, the IPA was in the process of recruiting 25 new protection officers, with several already in place by December 2023.[5]
In a report published in July 2021, the National Audit Office noted that the IPA was lacking the capacity to expediently address the high number of outstanding applications for international protection and that EUAA’s input in this regard had been a critical factor to minimise application processing time.[6] The Follow-up Audits Report 2023 welcomed the IPA’s September 2023 call for 25 protection officers.[7]
Malta has received operational support by the EASO/EUAA since 2019. The 2022-2024 operational plan was amended in April 2022 and April 2023 to take into account the changes in the operational context and in light of the invasion of Ukraine and the decreased pressure to the Maltese asylum and reception systems.[8] The provided support included registration of asylum applications, vulnerability assessments, and first instance interviews and recommendations. It also included structural components, seeking to support the establishment of protocols, SOPs, and units in various entities.
EUAA and the Maltese authorities identified the same needs as for the previous plans, namely, improve the access to asylum procedures, manage the case backlog and improve reception conditions in open centres. Assuming that the number of arrivals would remain similar to that registered in 2021, the plan also foresees that the Agency may initiate a phasing out exercise from specific support areas (such as decreasing direct support to asylum processing) towards the end of 2022, which indeed did happen throughout 2022 and 2023.[9] For the first 18 to 24 months, the plan foresees the deployment of up to 82 staff. It includes 10 registration and front desk personnel, 15 caseworkers, 9 vulnerability assessment officers, 3 social workers and several quality control support officers and team leaders.[10] Practitioners noted, however, that most first instance interviews and assessments they viewed or participated in were conducted by EUAA case-workers.
In 2023, the EUAA deployed 77 experts in Malta Operations,[11] mostly temporary agency workers (58). The majority of deployed experts were interim support caseworkers (13), caseworkers (11), interim support registration assistants (9), interim support team leader caseworkers (7) and other supporting staff (e.g. quality assurance officers, vulnerability assessors and registration experts).[12]
As of 19 December 2023, there were a total of 21 EUAA experts in Malta, mainly interim support caseworkers (4) and interim support flow management support officers (3).[13]
The Agency’s operations for Malta are set to end by the end of 2024, with the possibility of this happening earlier.
[1] Information provided by the Ministry for Home Affairs via a Freedom of Information Request, on 4 March 2024.
[2] Article 4 International Protection Act.
[3] Information provided by the Ministry for Home Affairs via a Freedom of Information Request, on 4 March 2024.
[4] Information provided by the Ministry for Home Affairs via a Freedom of Information Request, on 24 March 2023.
[5] Information provided by Home Affairs Ministry in January 2024.
[6] National Audit Office, Performance Audit: Fulfilling obligations in relation to asylum-seekers, 7 July 2021, available at http://bit.ly/3CT0VeK, 72.
[7] National Audit Office, Follow-up Audits Report 2023, Volume II, November 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3et2zzpr.
[8] EUAA, Operational Plan 2022-2024 agreed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and Malta, April 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3uVutb7.
[9] EUAA, 2022-2024 Operating plan agreed by EUAA and Malta, 16 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3LUHhlJ.
[10] EUAA, 2022-2024 Operating plan agreed by EUAA and Malta, 16 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3LUHhlJ, 15-19.
[11] EUAA personnel numbers do not include deployed interpreters by the EUAA in support of asylum and reception activities.
[12] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024. In the figures above, the same persons may have been included under different profiles, if a change of profile took place in the course of 2023. By way of clarification, it is noted that these figures account for the total number of persons deployed, not the number of persons supposed to be deployed according to the operation plan.
[13] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024.