SKOPJE, Macedonia -The meeting was the first gathering of the heads of asylum units from the region organized by the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje. The participants exchanged views on information and data exchange on issues of asylum and refugees.
As it was apparent that the network of regular data exchange among five MARRI Member States was lacking, the aim of the meeting was to take concrete steps towards establishment, for the first time, of a mechanism for gathering and exchange of information and to agree on methods, frequency and structure of information to be shared as a precondition for further action in order to: identify fields for future activities carried out by the MARRI Regional Centre on national and regional level; avoid duplication and overlapping with other activities carried out by other programs; extend cooperation in this field among five MARRI Member States; use the statistics for early warning and establish a common policy towards new European trends in this field (common European asylum system).