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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 13818 | 20 June 2015
Resettlement of refugees: promoting greater solidarity
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2059 (2014) on the
“Resettlement of refugees: promoting greater solidarity” and has
forwarded it to the relevant committees and bodies for information
and comments. 
The Committee
recognises the importance of the issue addressed by the Assembly.
In light of the uneven and mounting pressures on certain Council
of Europe member States as regards irregular migrants, asylum seekers
and refugees, particularly at the external borders of the European
Union, the Committee of Ministers concurs that it is essential to
study methods of “solidarity and responsibility sharing”.
The Committee
recognises the importance of the issue addressed by the Assembly.
In light of the uneven and mounting pressures on certain Council
of Europe member States as regards irregular migrants, asylum seekers
and refugees, particularly at the external borders of the European
Union, the Committee of Ministers concurs that it is essential to
study methods of “solidarity and responsibility sharing”.2. The resettlement of refugees is an important humanitarian
responsibility for Council of Europe member States and calls for
constant international efforts. The Committee of Ministers notes
that while many countries at the external borders of the EU are
particularly concerned by the large-scale arrival of irregular migrants, asylum
seekers and refugees, other Council of Europe member States are
also greatly affected. Turkey has shouldered the greatest number
of Syrian refugees among the Council of Europe member States, by
granting an estimated 1.7 million Syrian refugees temporary protection.
3. At the international level, work to address this problem and
demonstrate solidarity, including by tackling the root causes of
irregular migration, supporting States’ capacity-building and border
security to address these pressures, and combating exploitation
by traffickers and people smugglers, continues to be a priority
for States. The Committee of Ministers notes that despite increased
efforts to address disparities between member States, the arrival
of mixed migratory flows is continuing to place significant strain
on some member States. It concurs that despite international efforts
certain frontline Council of Europe member States are particularly
affected by migratory phenomena.
4. For its part, the Committee of Ministers will consider the
Assembly’s proposal to hold a thematic debate on the issue of the
resettlement of refugees in member States and notes the readiness
of the Council of Europe Development Bank to participate in such
a meeting. It recalls that Article II of the Articles of Agreement
of the Bank states, inter alia,
that “the primary purpose of the Bank is to help in solving the
social problems with which European countries are or may be faced
as a result of the presence of refugees, displaced persons and migrants…”.
Moreover, in the light of developments in other international organisations,
the Committee of Ministers will continue to follow the situation
and propose the expertise of the Council of Europe, where appropriate,
with a view to enhancing international efforts to address resettlement
issues and, as far as possible, the root causes of the rising levels
of mixed migration flows towards Europe.