EU refugee law is deficient—this has become obvious as thousands of refugees cross the Mediterranean and EU borders to reach a safe destination. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for a scheme of compulsory relocation of refugees to EU member states to achieve a ‘fair’ distribution¹based on ‘objective, quantifiable and verifiable criteria’ such as GDP, population size and unemployment rates.² While we strongly believe that providing international protection to refugees is a collective duty of EU member states, we argue that the concept of their ‘fair’ (but factually enforced) relocation across the EU is flawed and may ultimately be detrimental from a public health perspective.