The EUAA Management Board has elected its Lithuanian member, Ms. Evelina Gudzinskaitė, as its new Chair. A graduate of the University of Vilnius, she has served as Director of the Migration Department under the Ministry of Interior in Lithuania since 2015.

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has just concluded its 50th meeting of the Management Board, between 28 and 29 November 2023.

During the two-day session, Members had a strategic discussion on the Agency’s Strategy and prioritisation mechanism, took stock of the asylum situation in the EU+ and discussed the ongoing implementation of the EUAA Transition Programme, which governs the implementation of the Agency’s new mandate.  In addition, participants reviewed proposed methodologies for the upcoming EUAA Monitoring Mechanism, as well as the key findings of a draft EUAA Convergence Analysis, the latter initially requested by the French Presidency of the Council in 2022.

On the beginning of the second day, the Management Board elected Ms. Evelina Gudzinskaitė as its Chair. She currently leads the Migration Department under the Lithuanian Ministry of Interior and has been Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board since March 2023.

Following her election, Ms. GUNZINSKAITĖ said: “With some of the EUAA’s most important new functions entering into force over the coming year, I am proud to take on this new role as Chair of the Management Board to help steer its work; and am grateful to my colleagues for electing me. I want to thank Mikael Ribbenvik for his leadership over the last years, and wish him every success with his future endeavours.”

The Executive Director, Nina GREGORI, added: “I am delighted to welcome our new Chair, Evelina Gundzinskaitė to her role; the first woman to hold the position, and to continue to build with her, on the strong partnership between the Management Board and the Agency in the months and years to come.”