Joint Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative on the occasion of World Refugee Day

“Today, a record more than 120 million people are forcibly displaced around the world. On World Refugee Day, we reaffirm the EU's unwavering commitment to be a leading global donor to support refugees worldwide. We are committed to strengthening our efforts to ensure the EU remains a place where refugees find protection and safety.

Concretely, the EU is actively following through on its pledge made at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum to improve the situation of millions of refugees and forcibly displaced persons caught up in conflicts and major humanitarian crises across the world such as Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Venezuela, Yemen, Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We also support governments in addressing statelessness and strengthening their asylum systems.

Our focus is on durable solutions, working alongside national and local authorities to address the needs and resilience of refugees and the communities hosting them. In this regard, we are already working with governments such as in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, to support their efforts to integrate refugees into national systems.

At the same time, the EU also hosts an increasing number of refugees and people forced to flee their homes. For example, due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, EU Member States host today almost 4.2 million people from Ukraine under temporary protection, among which one third are children.

The EU reaffirms its strong support to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) which both play a crucial role. The EU reiterates its unwavering commitment to the right to seek and enjoy asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in both the 1951 Refugee Convention and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which must always be respected.

We will continue to work closely with EU Member States and international partners, on resettlement and complementary pathways that can help scale-up admission places from priority regions.”

Background

The EU and its Member States make an important contribution to global resettlement efforts. Since 2015, EU resettlement schemes have provided safe haven to over 122,000 vulnerable refugees. Additionally, since 2021 nearly 48,000 refugees – primarily Afghans at risk – have been welcomed to the EU through humanitarian admission schemes. Building on this commitment, EU Member States pledged 61,000 resettlement and humanitarian admissions for 2024-2025 at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.

The Pact on Migration and Asylum, recently entered into force, reflects a comprehensive and a whole-of-route approach to migration management. Therefore, the Commission is pursuing with the Member States a two-track approach, accompanying legislative work at EU level with operational activities. This notably includes work on the external dimension of migration, through the pursuit of comprehensive partnerships with partner countries.

After a historic agreement was reached on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, work has started to translate the large and complex set of legislative acts into an operational reality over the next two years.

This will be a common endeavour, with the Commission supporting Member States every step of the way. The Common Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted by the Commission on 12 June, sets out the key milestones for all Member States to put in place the legal and operational capabilities required to successfully start applying the new legislation by mid-2026.