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In an effort to help spread the load across Europe, the European Commission unveiled new plans on Wednesday for resettling refugees, arguing that the European Union should "take on a greater share of the burden of meeting resettlement needs worldwide." The scheme could save lives as it aims to discourage...
...proposal is also about helping the E.U. meet its political and moral obligations towards refugees who cannot return to their home countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that for 2010 alone, out of about 10 million refugees worldwide, 203,000 need permanent resettlement. Yet last year, only 6.7% of the refugees resettled globally were accepted by the E.U. - a total of just 4,375. By comparison, over 60,000 refugees were resettled to the United States. The Commission says these low numbers harm the E.U.'s international standing and give the impression of a "Fortress Europe...
Under the Commission's proposal, a Resettlement Expert Group made up of representatives from each member state and other stakeholders, including UNHCR and other NGOs, will prioritize the most deserving cases each year. These could include refugees from war zones, vulnerable single women with children, and people who are traumatized...
If managed efficiently, the Commission says the resettlement scheme could ease the burden on some of the E.U.'s border states. Last year, more than 30,000 people are believed to have made the boat journey to the Italian island of Lampedusa, just 70 miles (113 km) from Tunisia. Earlier...
The Commission is planning other reforms over the next few weeks, including a relocation policy, whereby refugees who land on the shores of Europe's Mediterranean countries would be transferred to other E.U. member states. In theory, the measures could make the E.U. a secure haven for refugees from the...