It is unclear whether the EU will agree on a comprehensive reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) by the end of the current legislative period in 2019. Some key proposals are still being negotiated. However, one aspect of the planned reforms is confirmed – the establishment of a new European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) with increased powers to bring the work of asylum authorities in member states into alignment and to ‘Europeanise‘ the asylum system as a whole. This is not to say that the new agency will instantly be able to resolve all the difficulties experienced by member states in implementing EU legislation. But the EUAA has the potential to help member states make decisions more consistently in future, developing shared standards for assessment to guide government organisations in their task. This is the conclusion arrived at by the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) Research Unit in its current summary report.