Practical cooperation has become one of the buzzwords in contemporary European asylum policy. After the adoption of the recast directives in June 2013, it is viewed as the panacea to complete the Common European Asylum System and, most importantly, work towards similar asylum standards across Europe. In general, the term practical cooperation refers to transnational cooperation between domestic law enforcement authorities. However, the nature and emergence as well as functioning of these cooperation networks remain unclear. The paper provides a first scholarly attempt to conceptualize and explain practical cooperation. Building upon Wallace’s five variants of the policy process, practical cooperation is viewed as an extended form of policy coordination. It is argued that its emergence can best be explained by a revised form of venue-shopping downwards. In order to illustrate the theoretical claims made, the author looks at one particular instance of practical cooperation, namely cooperation between national asylum authorities on country of origin information. Data on the involvement of national asylum administrations participating in these exchanges has been collected during interviews and observations in selected member states.
