As displacement globally remains at high levels, driven by conflict and persecution, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls on the Cypriot and Irish Presidencies of the Council of the European Union to reinforce the EU’s leadership in enhancing protection and solutions for forcibly displaced people.
With the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum set to enter into force in June 2026, the coming months are critical to ensure its fair and consistent implementation that safeguards access to asylum for those in need.
At a joint EU-UNHCR event in Brussels marking the first weeks of the Cypriot Presidency, the UN Refugee Agency urged both the Cypriot and the Irish Presidencies (starting July 2026) to champion principled implementation of the EU’s reformed asylum system and to strengthen the Union’s engagement along key displacement routes.
“Becoming a refugee is never a choice”
The event allowed for an open discussion between the UNHCR and representatives of Cyprus and Ireland, as well as the European External Action Service. The speakers all insisted on the importance of multilateralism, currently under attack, with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum as a good example of what can be achieved through negotiations.
“As our UN Secretary-General – and former High Commissioner for Refugees – says, becoming a refugee is never a choice”, stated Sherri Aldis, Director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) for Western Europe, when opening the event. “But how we respond is. So let us choose solidarity. Let us choose courage. Let us choose humanity.”
“All of these values are deeply rooted in the EU, despite growing xenophobia and political instrumentalisation of topics related to migration. Europe remains a major host for forcibly displaced and stateless people, with more than 20 million people at the end of 2025, including 5.2 million refugees from Ukraine. Those same values are defended every day by UNHCR, working in over 130 countries to support over 139 million people fleeing conflict, persecution, or war.
We face, together, strong headwinds, with persistent protection risks, severe financial constraints, and rising anti-refugee sentiment across many countries.”
The implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
“Now is an opportunity to demonstrate that implementing the Pact – together with active engagement along key displacement and migration routes – can deliver strong asylum systems, uphold rights and ensure orderly borders,” said Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Representative to the EU.
UNHCR called on the Presidencies to ensure that the new rules are applied consistently across Member States, with robust safeguards, quality asylum procedures, and reception conditions that meet standards. Effective implementation will help ease pressure at borders, reduce backlogs, and allow refugees to contribute positively to host communities faster.
Despite a recent decline in irregular arrivals in the EU, many people still risk dangerous journeys to Europe, facing abuse by traffickers or life-threatening conditions at sea and in deserts. It is important to strengthen search and rescue and ensure predictable disembarkation, while helping people find safety and assistance closer to home so that they do not need to resort to dangerous journeys.
“We are counting on the leadership of Cyprus and Ireland to build on European values and norms to showcase that there is a European way of protecting those fleeing wars and persecution – not only in Europe but along their journey to safety,” Beuze added.
UNHCR recommendations on Ukraine and Syria
On displacement from Ukraine, UNHCR encouraged the Presidencies to work with Member States to continue providing protection via temporary protection, while also developing transitions to other solutions.
In Syria, the EU and international community need to step up support for early recovery and reconstruction to create conditions for safe, voluntary and sustainable returns.
Multilateralism and funding need safeguarding
At a time of uncertainty about the future of international aid, the EU must demonstrate its commitment by providing sustained and predictable resources, from immediate humanitarian relief to long-term development interventions.
Strategic partnerships with third countries are vital to fostering stability and laying the groundwork for future cooperation – especially as Europe is impacted by crises in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, the Sahel and Sudan.
For UNHCR, the Pact for the Mediterranean should be prioritised, ensuring that partnerships with countries along those routes place protection at the core, include human rights safeguards, monitoring mechanisms, and provide access to asylum while expanding safe and legal alternatives.
Given their demographic and economic needs, UNHCR stressed that Member States should facilitate refugees’ access to labour and education opportunities in the EU, and consider pathways for those with specific vulnerabilities, who are most often equally talented and capable.
UNHCR welcomed the EU’s significant increase in support for forced displacement in 2025 and urged the Presidencies to build on this momentum to expand it further, including through dedicated and substantial budget in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. Continued investment is essential to address the root causes of displacement and strengthen solutions along key routes, by supporting host and transit countries and communities, particularly in fragile regions.
