Ms Sophie Magennis:

Egypt has a couple of hundred thousand and Iraq is hosting a large number of refugees who are moving between the Iraqi and Syrian border. Refugees are being hosted in the region because that is to where they are able to flee. The issue is that there is no durable solution for those refugees where they are. One in four in the territory of Lebanon is a Syrian refugee. The Lebanese authorities have done what they can but they cannot cope with those numbers. A small proportion of those refugees are coming to Europe. When the Chairman mentions looking at other alternatives, we have to look at what is a durable solution for Syrians. The people need to find residency in the new country to which they go. There is a need to look at the situation of asylum seekers or refugees in the other countries he mentioned. We have to do a lot more to build solidarity with other countries but we also have to recognise that for many years other countries have borne the responsibility of this and European Union countries have not done so directly. Lebanon and Egypt have done so. Turkey has invested massively in providing support and assistance to more than 2 million refugees on its territory. A small proportion are coming to the European Union and our view, as the UNHCR, is that the European Union can do an awful lot more to assist people coming to European Union countries.