Adoption of the Union Resettlement Framework: A chance for the EU to bring more people to safety and champion global responsibility sharing

While the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum today is likely to lead to a detrimental degradation of people’s access to protection in Europe, the new Union Resettlement Framework (URF) adopted alongside the Pact offers a glimmer of hope. It has the potential to bring about a more coordinated, predictable and protection-centred approach to EU resettlement, especially for refugees in vulnerable situations. Safe routes for refugees to reach Europe are not an optional 'nice to have' - they must be an intrinsic part of a well-functioning asylum system, alongside and in addition to the right to claim territorial asylum. Refugee resettlement is one tried and tested safe route, which is ready to be significantly scaled up. The Union Resettlement Framework offers a golden opportunity to make this happen.