As tens of thousands of people flee conflict and persecution, Europe is experiencing the largest global refugee influx since WWII. According to the European Union (EU) statistics agency, Eurostat, more than 570,000 asylum applications were made in 2014. The global level of displacement is increasing with nearly 60 million people noted to be forcibly displaced worldwide in 2014, compared to 37.5 million a decade ago. Yet when a young boy’s body washed up on a Turkish shore, the subject of refugees became less about numbers, or a political issue, and more of a humanitarian crisis.
With high volumes of applicants arriving at train stations, ports or local shores, rather than entering via formal reception centers, both member states and refugees could benefit from a more flexible means to process claims from more mobile, high-capacity reception centers. In this way, border management agencies can save time, money and resources while using the improved identity information to help refugees find residency in their host country more quickly, give them access to the services to which they are entitled and so desperately need and help address potential security threats.
Comment submitted
Submitted comment may not display automatically.