Country of Origin Information

Welcome to the EUAA COI Portal

The EUAA COI Portal provides access to Country of Origin Information (COI) for use in Protection Status Determination procedures. It is managed by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) in cooperation with the national asylum authorities of EU+ states (EU Member States plus Norway and Switzerland). For more information on EUAA, see below. The EUAA COI Portal provides selected COI authored by EU+ national asylum authorities, EUAA and other EU institutions.

EUAA

EUAA is an agency of the European Union that plays a key role in the concrete development of the Common European Asylum System. It has been established with the aim of enhancing practical cooperation on asylum matters and helping Member States fulfil their European and international obligations to give protection to people in need. EUAA acts as a centre of expertise on asylum. It also provides support to Member States whose asylum and reception systems are under particular pressure. For more information on EUAA, visit EUAA's website.

EUAA and COI

EUAA aims to contribute to the harmonisation of COI practices and products, to raise quality standards, and to strengthen information-sharing and COI cooperation among EU+. EUAA has established and coordinates COI Specialists Networks on the top countries of origin at EU+ level. The COI networks are composed of researchers specialised on a specific country who exchange information and harmonise practices. Currently, the following networks are active: Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, and West Africa. The agency also facilitates and coordinates the joint production or peer review of COI reports, queries or COI guides which then become EUAA products. It organises COI workshops and conferences on specific countries or topics and assists EU+ states in COI capacity-building.

The EUAA COI Portal holds carefully selected information on countries of origin to assist asylum practitioners (COI researchers, caseworkers, decision and policy-makers, lawyers, legal aid providers and judges).

It allows users to be updated on COI-related events and publications and on COI workshops or conferences organised by EUAA. Recently redesigned and opened to the public, the EUAA COI Portal will be continually enhanced to better serve the needs of asylum practitioners. The COI Portal is managed by EUAA in cooperation with EU+ states' national asylum authorities.

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