News

Mr. Malcolm Cutajar, Ambassador for Migration and Director General responsible for Migration at the Maltese Ministry of Home Affairs and Security, has today been elected unanimously as Deputy Chair of the Management Board of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). In his capacity as a former Chief Executive of Malta’s International Protection Agency (IPA), Mr. Cutajar has been actively involved in the work of the EUAA Management Board since 2021.

The EUAA Management Board is composed of representatives of EU+ Member States, the European Commission, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is responsible for giving general orientation on the Agency’s activities and carries out various tasks which include approving key EUAA documents, institutional decisions and reports. 

The Management Board is led by its chairperson, currently Mr. Marios Kaleas from Greece, and a Deputy Chairperson, each appointed for a term of 4 years that is renewable once. The Deputy Chairperson automatically replaces the Chairperson, if they are prevented from attending to their duties.

Mr. Malcolm Cutajar has a long career in the area of international protection. He was appointed Assistant Commissioner in Malta’s Office of the Refugee Commissioner in 2017, before becoming Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the International Protection Agency (IPA) in 2020, and a year later, in 2021, he became Chief Executive. In this latter role, he joined the EUAA Management Board as Malta’s alternate Member, before becoming its main Member in May 2026.

In March 2024, Mr. Cutajar was appointed Ambassador for Migration – a new post intended to strengthen work relating to migration in Malta and abroad. In January 2026, he was also appointed Director General (Migration) within the Ministry for Home Affairs and Security.