“Bottom-up” Harmonization in the EU Asylum Policy: The Case of EASO

This research assesses the role and contribution of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), a relatively new EU agency, in the European asylum policy. EASO is tasked with coordinating practical cooperation efforts so as to achieve harmonisation “bottom-up”, namely through the harmonisation of practices. Although it does not have the power to issue binding guidelines or recommendations, its various support activities have the potential to increase Member States’ capacity in effectively implementing this policy.