The EU and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)

The European Union is currently faced with a migratory surge resulting from mixed migration flows of refugees and other migrants. In 2014 over 200 000 people illegally crossed the Mediterranean to reach the EU and the situation has become even more critical this year, especially considering the sharp rise in deaths at sea: 1 829 victims in 2015 so far as compared to 3 200 people in 2014. This dramatic situation requires the EU to seek holistic approaches to migration in close cooperation with key international partners, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).