2023 Global Refugee Forum: The EU announces resettlement pledges

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, are attending the ongoing Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, between 13 and 15 December. Their presence in the three-day forum reaffirms the EU’s support in addressing major displacement crises, providing refugee protection in a high-quality asylum space, assisting people displaced by the war in Ukraine, and contributing to global efforts on resettlement and complementary pathways.  

Yesterday, Commissioner Johansson announced the resettlement pledges for 2024-2025, following her meeting with the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, and a high-level event on the situation of refugees from Ukraine. Today, Commissioner Lenarčič will attend the high-level event on ‘Scaling up Climate Action in displacement settings’ and will address the plenary session of the Forum. 

The EU’s commitment to fostering global stability and durable solutions 

The collective EU pledge from Member States announced today is of a further 61,000 places for resettlement and humanitarian admission for people in need of international protection. The pledges also include the EU’s commitment to further promote complementary pathways to the EU and community sponsorship schemes, as well as the continuation of funding for the Emergency Transit Mechanisms (ETM).  

In addition, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) will continue to expand the Resettlement Support Facility (RSF) in Istanbul, develop additional operational support structures for resettlement in other partner countries, while promoting information sharing and the diffusion of best practices on resettlement, humanitarian admission, and complementary pathways to the EU.  

Background 

Commissioner Johansson organised High-level resettlement forums in 2021, 2022 and 2023, encouraging EU countries to contribute to this voluntary effort. The Commission facilitates joint EU efforts with political and financial support. So far, in 2023, the Commission has provided €246 million to Member States, in relation to persons admitted through resettlement over the last two years.

Together with its Member States, the EU is the biggest humanitarian and development contributor and supporter in managing refugee situations globally. According to the 2020-2021 OECD-DAC survey, the EU is the second-largest donor for forcibly displaced persons. Combined, the EU and its Member States' official development assistance streams establish the EU as the world's leading donor in refugee situations, contributing to 41,8% of global funding. Each year, about 80% of the EU humanitarian budget is allocated to projects addressing the needs of forcibly displaced persons and host communities, in sectors such as protection, shelter, food assistance, safe water, access to health services or education.