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UN refugee agency head: EU could do more for Syrians

Monday, 25 January 2016 9:25 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 25 January 2016 9:25 AM ]

United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visits a shelter for displaced Syrians in the Al-Zahera neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, January 21, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), Filippo Grandi, says the European Union (EU) countries can take more refugees from Syria if they work together better.

“Europe can absorb more genuine refugees if it would be better organized among the different member-states,” said the new head of the agency.

Grandi also urged the 28-nation bloc to do more for Syrian refugees outside Europe. He also urged the EU to “do more for the countries of first asylum” so there would be “less motivation for people to flee further away.”

In a visit to Lebanon this week, Grandi described the inflow of Syrians and other refugees into Europe as “a wake-up call.”

Europe has been facing an unprecedented inflow of refugees fleeing war and violence in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria. More than one million refugees entered Europe in 2015, according to the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR. Damascus says foreign support for terrorists wreaking havoc in the country is to blame for the outflow of Syrians.

European governments have not yet come up with a viable means of tackling the massive inflow. Some European countries have urged the closure of their borders – considered a turnaround from the longtime policy of open borders associated with the very nature of the EU. Others have called for open arms for the refugees, but have been bogged down under the technicalities of managing huge numbers of people who often arrive with little more than their clothes.

French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron recently warned that time is running out to come up with a collective and viable solution to the refugee crisis, warning that the crisis would be “the beginning of the dismantling [of the EU] for sure.”

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls also warned last week that the EU could collapse in the near future, citing the refugee crisis as one of the dangers that threaten the bloc.

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