WCC NEWS: Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe: “protect people more than borders”

Dr Torsten Moritz is general secretary of Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe. He took time to reflect on why it’s important that churches know about the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, and how churches across Europe and beyond can remain a steadfast voice of conscience. Photo: Albin Hillert, all rights reserved 25 June 2026 In the upcoming Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe assembly, there will be a focus on experiences among members with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. What are your hopes regarding the fruits of these discussions? Dr Moritz: It is clear that the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will determine the conditions of migrants and persons seeking protection in Europe – inside and outside the EU. In principle, the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum should be implemented in the EU since 12 June. Some of the provisions of the act are by themselves very problematic – such as keeping persons seeking asylum at the border, aiming to send many back after an only superficial examination of their case, or leaving the responsibility for reception of persons seeking asylum to countries at the EU external border. In practice, we now see that hardly an EU country is ready. It is unclear what laws can apply when – which creates chaos and additional suffering of the most vulnerable. Exchanging among European churches and Christian agencies will hopefully allow for a better and coordinated practical response as the situation of the most vulnerable is getting worse in this context. It should also allow documentation of the failure of the pact, both in its foundations and in practice. Last, not least, it shall encourage churches in Europe to look for a model for a different asylum system in Europe, a system which protects people more than borders. For the WCC global audience, can you describe the ironic and deeply concerning crossroads at which the migration pact rests—on the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention? Dr Moritz: It is indeed ironic—I’d say cynical. Policymakers in Europe these days praise the 1951 convention. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in Article 18, guarantees the right to asylum “with due respect” to the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol.  At the same time, laws of the EU and other European countries make it more and more difficult to exercise this right. Several official and unofficial deals with countries outside Europe aim at stopping people trying to get to Europe and seek protection. Even those who have arrived in Europe are put through fast-track asylum procedures, are deprived of a fully-fledged examination of their cases, or get minimal legal support. In the worst cases, they are deported from Europe while their appeal against an asylum decision is still pending. The aim clearly is deterrence and dissuasion. This is built around the assumption that people come to Europe because living in Europe is so comfortable. This assumption is obviously wrong and totally blind to the causes why people flee dictatorship, war, or violence – to mention a few of the real reasons.  Would you like to say a word about the recent advocacy training that the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe hosted held in Brussels? Dr Moritz: The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe offered Advocacy Training from 9-11 June in Brussels as part of our flagship campaign, "Protecting People More Than Borders.” The training occurred just before the EU Asylum and Migration Pact entered into full application on 12 June. We emphasized in the sessions that the role of independent civil society has never been more urgent.  The training drew on expert sessions covering EU decision-making, advocacy strategy, and practical techniques for small organisations. Participants met EU policymakers directly, then returned to refine their strategies, present their advocacy plans, and commit to next steps. What can churches do across Europe and beyond to remain a steadfast voice of conscience in this matter? Dr Moritz: I think upholding the notion of equality and dignity among humans created in God’s image is the central starting point – and something on which many non-Christians can also agree. Beyond that, churches have enormous capacity  and expertise in working with and for people seeking protection. Here in Europe, the arrival of one million displaced from the Middle East in 2015 or four million from Ukraine in 2022 was met by an enormous response by churches. This means churches know what works in practice. This knowledge should encourage us to advocate for a system which is prepared, one which doesn’t see each displacement as an unprecedented crisis, which Europe can’t deal with. Against this background, European churches are developing a system which is prepared for arrivals, including bigger groups. We hope to present the blueprint next year—a blueprint for a system, which through good procedures and infrastructure works on solving problems, instead of resorting to panic and ant-refugee hate speech. It is obviously everyone’s aim that people no longer must flee their homes. However, if they still have to flee, Europe should be ready with a system which protects people more than borders. See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland