Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch has called for stronger European cooperation in refugee policy.

"National unilateral action will not bring a solution to refugee policy, especially not for Germany in the heart of Europe," writes the chairman of the Catholic Eastern European aid organization Renovabis in a guest article for the "Handelsblatt." Koch points to Poland's reaction to the government's "repatriation offensive." "When Germany began sending migrants back at the border, our neighboring country responded by threatening to close the borders." Koch believes that a solution can only be found jointly with the European neighbors.

It was no coincidence that Pope Leo XIV, at a meeting with representatives of the Eastern Churches, suggested the Vatican, as a neutral papal state, as a venue for peace negotiations. "When it comes to the future of Ukrainian refugees, only looking to Eastern Europe helps," Koch writes. With 1.8 million refugees registered for temporary protection, Poland remains the main destination country for refugees from Ukraine. This compares to 1.2 million refugees in the much larger country of Germany. Renovabis, the Catholic Church's Eastern European aid agency, has supported Ukrainian refugees in the country and in neighboring countries with over 500 projects.