DAVOS: Europe must enact a stable and holistic migration pact to deal with the growing number of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, Vice President for Promoting the European Way of Life in the European Commission Margaritis Schinas said.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum session entitled “Responding to New Migration Flows in Europe,” Schinas said: “Europe will always remain an asylum destination for those who are fleeing war and persecution. This is the model of society we stand for. We have welcomed more than 5 million Ukrainian refugees, but we do not yet have a migration pact. This forces us to very often function like firefighters rather than architects.”
A future EU migration policy would need a holistic approach that includes strong relations with origin and transit countries, a collective and uniform border system and procedures within EU countries, and solidarity across all levels of society to deal with the burdens of global crises, the vice president said.
Moldova is one example of how joint border controls and communication on all levels can help facilitate the movement of refugees, according to Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilița.
About half a million people have crossed the border from Ukraine into Moldova, the prime minister said, adding that contingency plans in place allowed thousands of migrants who had fled in a hurry to enter the country without sufficient documents.
Hundreds of Moldovans also scurried to provide aid and volunteer their services to help facilitate the influx of Ukrainians coming into the country, she said.
The Ukrainian refugee crisis could prove to be a tipping point in the way Europe tackles migration crises. (AFP)
The WEF session came after the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, announced Monday that the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution around the world had crossed the bleak milestone of 100 million for the first time.
The war in Ukraine alone has displaced 8 million within the country and forced more than 6 million others to flee elsewhere, according to the new data from UNHCR.
By the end of 2021, about 90 million people were forcibly displaced around the world as a result of conflicts and new waves of violence in countries that include Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso.
The WEF— running from May 22 to 26 — will see global business, technology and political leaders come together for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to discuss climate, technology and geopolitical issues, including the consequences of the outbreak and the Ukraine crisis.
