Brussels

This week, EU negotiators are hammering out the final details of the long-awaited EU migration pact.

Ahead of the trilogues, Stephanie Pope, Oxfam EU migration expert, said: “The deal is nothing but a house of cards incapable of fixing the EU’s broken asylum system. After years of negotiation, we are left with a pact that ushers in increased detention, more pushbacks, and dubious deals with non-EU countries.

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Greece about how they treat people arriving in Europe to seek asylum and the asylum process. This could result in the Commission taking Greece to court. Oxfam has been advocating for this for years due to Greece's systematic breaches of EU asylum law. This includes launching a joint legal complaint with other human rights groups.

Europe faces a shift in the political landscape, marked by a rise of far-right and euro-sceptic political parties. While the next few weeks may see some political jostling, centrist parties are set to hold their majority. However, the European Parliament will likely see more fragmentation and less consensus building, as the increase of the far-right will lead to a focus on short-term, self-serving agendas or even political gridlock. But we cannot let that happen. There is simply too much at stake.   

Reacting to donor pledges made at the Brussels conference on Syria today, Oxfam in Syria Country Director, Moutaz Adham, said: "While we welcome the pledges made today, the discussion remains far removed from the harsh realities Syrians face."

Today, 26 EU leaders agreed on a revision to the EU’s long-term budget, with one EU country blocking the agreement. If confirmed in the new year, the deal would slash the new funding for external action proposed by the European Commission and supported by the European Parliament by prioritizing investment in migration management instead. 

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire was projected at Mont des Arts in Brussels. This visual statement, projected in Europe’s capital, underscores the critical need for a permanent ceasefire to end the suffering in Gaza, where, in 54 days alone, more than 14 800 Palestinians (70% of them women and children) have been reported killed and more than 36,000 injured amid intensifying hostilities. 

Despite governments' concern about the rising tide of violence in Syria, they have failed to do anywhere near enough to relieve the human suffering it brings in its wake.

Donors and governments must bring change for the millions of vulnerable Syrians by following through on previous commitments to protect displaced people and fund the aid response.