European Union Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, in an interview with the Financial Times, alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the primary factor behind increased migration to Europe over the past decade. He purportedly stated, "In major migration flows, Putin is always involved. It's always Vladimir Putin."

Brunner supposedly cited Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war that began in 2011 as evidence. According to the publication, this conflict was one of the causes of the EU's migration crisis in 2015-2016, when over two million people applied for asylum.

The EU commissioner's second example was Ukrainian refugees. He allegedly linked their arrival to Russia's war against Ukraine, noting that about 4.3 million Ukrainian citizens have received temporary protection in EU countries.

Brunner also claimed that Russia's support for Iran in the current Middle East conflict could lead to new migration flows in the future, although no significant influx of refugees from Iran has been observed so far. "Thus, Vladimir Putin is effectively the biggest driver of migration to Europe," he is claimed to have said, adding that the situation can change daily and requires constant attention.

Despite these assertions, Brunner emphasized that the European Union is allegedly better prepared for migration challenges today than it was ten years ago. According to data from the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA), in 2025, the number of asylum applications in EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, decreased by 19% compared to the previous year, totaling about 822,000. Germany again registered the most applications—approximately 163,000.

Source: kun.uz