Brussels, Belgium, 10 April 2024 —  The European Parliament has today voted through a Pact that leaves troubling cracks deep within Europe’s approach to asylum and migration, and fails to offer sustainable solutions for people seeking safety at Europe’s borders. Yet, the Union Resettlement Framework (URF), adopted alongside this package, offers a glimmer of hope for many refugees across the globe.

Today, 22 civil society organisations - including Oxfam, Danish Refugee Council and Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen - are together calling for the URF to be swiftly and fully put into action, in order to create a more coordinated, predictable and protection-focused approach to refugee resettlement. Read the statement here.

Resettlement is just one - but a vitally important - safe pathway for people seeking protection. It enables people in some of the world’s most difficult refugee situations whose needs are not met to be transferred to relative safety elsewhere, such as in EU states, where they have a chance to recover and rebuild their lives. It is a crucial part of a functioning asylum system, in addition to upholding the fundamental right to asylum for those who arrive via irregular routes.

While the number of people in need of resettlement has soared by 40% in the past 12 months, this year, the total number of resettlement pledges offered by EU states has dropped by about 3%, to roughly 15,480 per year (or just under 30,000 over two years). This accounts for less than 1% of the 2.4 million people in need of resettlement globally, as identified by UNHCR.

Despite the level of needs, only 14 EU member states have pledged to resettle refugees in 2024 and 2025, down on the 17 who made such commitments last year. Two states - France and Germany - are leading these efforts, pledging to resettle 42% and 19% of the total respectively. See a breakdown of EU states’ pledges for the coming years, and how they compare to last year.

Together, 22 civil society organisations are calling on the EU and its Member States to take three key actions to make the URF an effective tool for scaling up resettlement:

  1. Expand the capacity of national resettlement programmes and ensure that more EU states participate in resettlement efforts, resulting in better systems and more pledges.
  2. Ensure more robust monitoring and reporting on resettlement commitments.
  3. Strengthen resettlement programmes by involving displaced people, civil society, and humanitarian actors at every step of the process. 

Read our full joint statement here.

Marta Welander, IRC’s EU Advocacy Director, says:

“While the outcome of the EU Pact is deeply disconcerting, the Union Resettlement Framework offers a glimmer of hope. Safe routes for refugees to reach Europe are not an optional 'nice to have' - they are an intrinsic part of any well-functioning asylum system. Refugee resettlement is a crucial part of this puzzle. Yet, the number of resettlement pledges by EU states are continuing to stagnate year-on-year, and most are failing to meet even these modest commitments.

"As a signal of support for the EU’s resettlement efforts, the URF is a golden opportunity to change this direction of travel. While it is no replacement for upholding the right to asylum for all those seeking protection in Europe - however they arrive - this EU-wide framework has the potential to bring about a more coordinated, predictable and protection-centred approach to EU refugee resettlement. 

"At this pivotal moment for EU asylum and migration policy, we are jointly calling for the EU to urgently put this Framework fully and swiftly into practice - providing both a precious lifeline for people in desperate situations and an orderly, effective way for EU states to welcome people in need.”