By Leon Prop, Director, Red Cross EU Office, Brussels
The tightening of border controls and the scarcity of options to enter the EU legally have pushed migrants and asylum-seekers to resort to riskier routes. This leaves them at risk of smuggling and exploitation, adding to their vulnerability.
Furthermore, the responsibility for migration management is increasingly shifted towards countries of origin and transit. The absence of effective legal avenues into EU territory for those fleeing to guarantee their survival threatens the EU's commitments to the right to access international protection and the principle of ‘non-refoulement' – that is, an obligation not to return a victim of persecution to their persecutor.
