Liaison officers in Member States
Article 7
1. The Executive Director shall appoint experts from the Agency’s staff to be deployed as liaison officers in Member States. 2. The Executive Director shall, in consultation with the Member States concerned, make a proposal on the nature and terms of the deployment and on the Member State or region to which a liaison officer may be deployed. The Executive Director may decide that a liaison officer covers up to four Member States which are geographically close to each other. The proposal from the Executive Director shall be subject to approval by the Management Board. 3. The Executive Director shall notify the Member State concerned of the appointment of liaison officers and shall determine, together with that Member State, the location of deployment. 4. Liaison officers shall act on behalf of the Agency and shall foster cooperation and dialogue between the Agency and the national authorities responsible for asylum and immigration and other relevant services. Liaison officers shall, in particular: (a) act as an interface between the Agency and national authorities responsible for asylum and immigration and other relevant services; (b) support the collection of information referred to in Article 5 and any other information required by the Agency; (c) contribute to promoting the application of Union law on asylum, including with regard to respect for fundamental rights; (d) where requested, assist the Member States in preparing their contingency planning for measures to be taken to deal with possible disproportionate pressure on their asylum and reception systems; (e) facilitate communication between Member States and between the Member State concerned and the Agency, and share relevant information from the Agency with the Member State concerned, including information about ongoing assistance; (f) regularly provide reports to the Executive Director on the situation of asylum in the Member State concerned and its capacity to manage its asylum and reception systems effectively. Where the reports referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph raise concerns about one or more aspects relevant for the Member State concerned, the Executive Director shall inform that Member State without delay. Those reports shall be taken into account for the purposes of the monitoring mechanism referred to in Article 14 and shall be transmitted to the Member State concerned. 5. For the purposes of paragraph 4, liaison officers shall stay in regular contact with the national authorities responsible for asylum and immigration and other relevant services, keeping a point of contact designated by the Member State concerned informed. 6. In carrying out their duties, liaison officers shall take instructions only from the Agency.