Through their common project ‘Future-proofing EU resettlement policies’, the European Policy Centre (EPC) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) will discuss the way forward for EU resettlement policies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and new legislative developments, notably the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Resettlement has long been recognised as a vital tool for offering durable protection to the most vulnerable among the world’s displaced populations. It also enables Europe to showcase solidarity with those countries hosting the most refugees. In light of pressing global resettlement needs and recent obstacles to international efforts, Europe has an important role to play.
The European Commission’s New Pact recognises this and calls on member states to scale up their resettlement commitments. The New Pact also contributes to the growing momentum for private and community sponsorship of refugees by calling for an EU approach to these initiatives.
While this renewed momentum to strengthen European resettlement efforts is welcome, it also raises several questions. How can efforts be scaled up more structurally and evenly across member states to secure a greater leading role for Europe in resettlement globally? How can the development of safe pathways be targeted to have the greatest impact, and the primarily humanitarian character of resettlement be upheld? How can a European approach to community sponsorship most effectively support these initiatives while preserving the merits of local grassroots efforts? Lastly, how can resettlement partnerships and coordination be strengthened, both within and beyond Europe, to maximise the support that countries can provide to people in need of protection?
The project will consist of three closed-door roundtables. These conversations will feed into an EPC Discussion Paper, which will present evidence-based recommendations on organising future EU resettlement efforts.