The EU called Putin the “main driving force” of migration to Europe

The main culprit behind the increase in migration to Europe over the past 10 years is Russian President Vladimir Putin, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told the Financial Times.

“Putin is always involved in large migration flows. It’s always Vladimir Putin,” Brunner said.

As proof of his statement, Brunner cited Putin's support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout the civil war, which began in the country in 2011. The war in Syria, as FT recalls, provoked a migration crisis in the EU in 2015-2016. More than two million people have applied for asylum in Europe.

The second migration flow for which, according to Brunner, Putin is to blame are Ukrainian refugees. “Once again, Putin was in on it,” said a European official, referring to Russia’s big war with Ukraine. About 4.3 million Ukrainians have received temporary protection in the EU.

The Russian President also “supports” the Iranian authorities in the war in the Middle East, which began at the end of February, Brunner said.

“So he [Vladimir Putin] is actually the biggest driving force behind migration to Europe,” says Brunner. He added that at the moment, “we do not see any [migration] flows from Iran, but we must be vigilant because the situation can change every day.”

Brunner added that the EU is now “much better prepared than 10 years ago.”

• According to a report by the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA), the number of asylum applications in the EU fell significantly in 2025. A total of about 822 thousand refugees applied in the 27 EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which is 19% less than a year earlier. Germany again became the leader in the number of asylum applications - approximately 163 thousand such applications were registered there.