Discrepancies in the European Union’s Responses: Syrian versus Ukrainian Refugee Crises

Abstract

Irregular refugee flows have always constituted a serious concern for the European Union (EU). Thirteen years have passed since the starting of the Syrian Civil War and the number of displaced Syrians reached over 14 million (UNHCR 2024). While the Syrian refugee crisis was unfolding, Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to the emergence of an additional refugee crisis: the Ukrainian refugee crisis. The number of displaced Ukrainians reached nearly 6.5 million (UNHCR 2024). In the case of Syrian refugees, the EU have preferred to deliver humanitarian aid to those states hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees and to control irregular Syrian refugee flows rather than providing legal grants. In contrast to the case of Syrian refugees, member states largely provided Ukrainian refugees legal protection in the form of temporary protection. In this regard, while the EU has demonstrated its full commitment to 1951 Refugee Convention (Geneva Convention) regarding Ukrainian refugees, similar adherence cannot be observed in terms of Syrian refugees. The purpose of this study is to identify the responses of the EU institutions and EU member states to Syrian and Ukrainian refugee crises. Through a comparative analysis, this study spotlights the EU’s contrasting policies and the geopolitical, social, and economic considerations influencing the divergent responses towards these two refugee populations.