29.5.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 132/11 REGULATION (EU) No 439/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 74 and Article 78(1) and (2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (1), Whereas: The policy of the Union on the Common European Asylum System (the CEAS) is designed, under the terms of the Hague Programme, to establish a common asylum area by means of an effective harmonised procedure consistent with the values and humanitarian tradition of the European Union. Much progress has been made in recent years towards the establishment of the CEAS thanks to the introduction of common minimum standards. There remain great disparities between the Member States, however, in the granting of international protection and the forms that such international protection takes. Those disparities should be reduced. In its Policy Plan on Asylum, adopted in June 2008, the Commission announced its intention to develop the CEAS by proposing a revision of existing legal instruments in order to achieve greater harmonisation of the applicable standards and by strengthening support for practical cooperation between the Member States, in particular by a legislative proposal to establish a European Asylum Support Office (the Support Office) in (") Position of the European Parliament of 7 May 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal), position of the Council at first reading of 25 February 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Position of the European Parliament of 18 May 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal). order to increase coordination of operational cooperation between Member States so that the common rules are implemented effectively. In the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, adopted in September 2008, the European Council solemnly reiterated that any persecuted foreigner is entitled to obtain aid and protection on the territory of the European Union in application of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, and other relevant treaties. It was also expressly agreed that a European support office would be established in 2009. Practical cooperation on asylum aims to increase convergence and ensure ongoing quality of Member States’ decision-making procedures in that area within a European legislative framework. A substantial number of practical cooperation measures has already been undertaken in recent years, notably the adoption of a common approach to information on countries of origin and the establishment of a common European asylum curriculum. The Support Office should be established in order to strengthen and develop those cooperation measures. The Support Office should take due account of those cooperation measures and the lessons learnt therefrom. For Member States which are faced with specific and disproportionate  pressures on their asylum and reception systems, due in particular to their geographical or demographic situation, the Support Office should support the development of solidarity within the Union to promote a better relocation of beneficiaries of inter- national protection between Member States, while ensuring that asylum and reception systems are not abused. In order to best fulfil its mandate, the Support Office should be independent in technical matters and should enjoy legal, administrative and financial autonomy. To that end, the Support Office should be a body of the Union having legal personality and exercising the imple- menting powers conferred upon it by this Regulation.