EU relies on Afghanistan's neighboring countries to welcome Afghan refugees
European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson pleaded for “tailor-made” support to the neighboring countries of Afghanistan.
AP - Virginia Mayo
Text by: RFI Follow
6 mins
The Twenty-Seven pledged on Tuesday to support the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to welcome refugees fleeing the Taliban to the region, in order to avoid a migratory influx to Europe.
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Two weeks after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the migratory influx to Europe mentioned by some politicians has still not happened.
The Twenty-Seven nevertheless prefer to be careful.
“
We don't know what's going to happen in a week or a month, and we have to prepare for different scenarios,
” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said after a meeting of EU ministers. European interior.
As during the Syrian immigration crisis in 2015, they mainly sought to do everything to ensure that Europe provides assistance to neighboring countries so that Afghan refugees can choose to settle there.
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To read also: After the departure of the Americans, the Afghans go into exile towards Pakistan, the first destination of the refugees
German Minister Horst Seehofer therefore considered that it was necessary to ensure that migrants "
stay close to their homes and their culture
", stressing however that "
particularly threatened persons
" should be able to come to the EU.
During the 2015 crisis, Germany was at the forefront of welcoming Syrians fleeing the war, opening its doors to more than a million asylum seekers.
The United Nations expects half a million additional Afghan refugees by 2021.
For Austrian Minister Karl Nehammer, on a very firm line alongside his Danish and Czech counterparts, “
the message to send
” is: “
stay put and we will support the region
”.
“Tailor-made” support
The European Commission is called upon to present proposals to support these neighboring countries, such as Pakistan and Tajikistan, within the framework of the European budget.
This aid would come in particular from an envelope of 80 billion euros planned for 2021-2027.
This support will have to be "
tailor-made
", said Commissioner Ylva Johansson, and "
not a copy and paste
" of the agreement with financial support signed with Turkey in 2016 on Syrian refugees.
“
The best way to avoid a migration crisis is to avoid a humanitarian crisis,
” insisted Ylva Johansson. "
This is why we must support the Afghans in Afghanistan
" through international organizations "
on the ground
", she added. The EU has already announced the quadrupling of its humanitarian aid for 2021 to 200 million euros to Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
Member States have not announced any quantified commitment to receive refugees.
On the other hand, they promise in their final declaration to "
do their utmost to ensure that the situation in Afghanistan does not lead to new security risks for EU citizens
" and emphasize "
the execution of security controls. safety of evacuees
”.
"
We must be careful that people returned from European countries because they were criminals, rapists or others do not come back under the guise of asylum seekers,
" Slovenian Minister Ales Hojs warned.
"In the wrong direction"
Luxembourg Minister Jean Asselborn lamented that European migration policy is going "
in the wrong direction
", calling on the EU to "
establish resettlement programs (of refugees) to give hope to people who are being prosecuted, who can no longer live normally. in Afghanistan
”.
The NGO Oxfam, for its part, accused European governments of "
washing their hands of their international obligation to offer refuge to those seeking safety and to unload it on other countries
".
Amnesty International also urged the EU not to "
shift the responsibility for the protection of refugees to third countries
".
(
With
AFP)
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