Skip to main content

Realising UK’s resettlement pledge critical to PM’s ‘comprehensive response’ to the Mediterranean refugee crisis

By June 26, 2015October 26th, 2016Press release

Last night at the EU summit in Brussels, Europe’s leaders laboured to an agreement in principle to voluntarily relocate 40,000 people from Italy and Greece and resettle 20,000 refugees from outside.

The Prime Minister meanwhile pledged that Britain would play its role in a ‘comprehensive and co-ordinated’ European response to the migrant crisis.

Stephen Hale, Chief Executive of Refugee Action commented:

“While Europe’s leaders squabbled over their responsibilities yesterday, another six refugees drowned in the Aegean Sea. Refugees need safe and legal routes to safety.

The Prime Minister must not wait for the new July deadline to make clear how Britain will help. Last week he announced Britain would modestly expand the scheme to welcome Syrian refugees. It’s high time he told us what he meant. Britain’s response must be both urgent and proportionate to the scale of the crisis.”

Media enquiries

Please contact Refugee Action’s media team.