The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, recalled on Wednesday 19 June that in 2018, 70.8 million people worldwide were forced to leave their places of origin due to conflicts, violations of their fundamental freedoms and the impacts of climate change. Of these 70.8 million people, 29.4 million were refugees or asylum seekers, they added in a statement on the eve of World Refugee Day.
Since 2015, the EU has offered protection to 1.9 million people, and 60,000 people have been resettled in the EU from non-Member States, the institution said. “So far, the EU and its Member States have together provided support worth almost €17 billion for Syrians displaced within Syria, but mainly for Syrian refugees and their host communities in the region, particularly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, since the conflict began in 2011”.
The Commission also defends its actions “along the central Mediterranean route” regarding the fight against traffickers and smugglers and the evacuation of migrants from Libya, with 40,489 vulnerable people having been evacuated and assisted in their return to their countries of origin. On 18 June, the Council of Europe called on the EU to cease its cooperation at sea with the Libyan coastguard. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)