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"The best way to avoid a migration crisis is to prevent a humanitarian crisis," said European Commissioner Ylva Johansson at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the 27 Interior Ministers in Brussels, to try to reach a common position on the case. of a new migratory crisis after the collapse of Afghanistan before the advance of the Taliban.
But the only thing the member states of the European Union seem to agree on is to prevent the scenes of
2015,
when more than a million people arrived in Europe irregularly fleeing the war in Syria, from being repeated by collapsing the system. community asylum. And yet the recipes for this new emergency are not very different from then. EU countries are ready to
support Afghans, as long as they do not come to Europe.
The meeting was long, tense, and in it the ministers once again exhibited the differences between the countries of the anti-migration hard core and those who are willing to make an extra effort in welcoming the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. In the final communiqué, signed by the Twenty-seven, the Interior officials call in any case to reinforce cooperation with neighboring countries and to increase humanitarian aid to guarantee that those fleeing Afghanistan remain in the region. Although there is no concrete figure in the statement, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, announced an increase in humanitarian assistance to Afghans throughout the region from 50 to
200 million euros,
that the EU hopes to channel through organizations on the ground, and in particular the United Nations.
"The EU will strengthen its support to third countries, in particular neighboring and transit countries, which host large numbers of migrants and refugees, to strengthen their capacity to provide protection, dignified and safe reception conditions and sustainable livelihoods. for refugees and host communities, "reads the statement in which ministers point to
" lessons learned ",
clearly referring to 2015. Although the EU is committed to relocating people from particularly vulnerable groups such as women and children, The Twenty-seven insist that the objective is that "those who need it receive adequate protection mainly in the region."
But the Twenty-seven also call to cooperate with these countries to prevent irregular arrivals to Europe. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has been hanging on the phone for days, talking about the situation in Afghanistan with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan. And to a large extent, the talks have turned to the control of migratory flows, the
reinforcement of borders
and the
fight against terrorism
or drug trafficking.
The recipe for humanitarian aid in exchange for increased border control is not new to EU migration policy. In March 2016, the EU launched a similar strategy in the face of the intense migratory flow through the Eastern Mediterranean route, which also claimed the lives of thousands of people. The leaders of European governments struck an agreement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the country to take care of Syrian refugees in exchange for 3 billion euros in humanitarian aid. The
tensions
with Turkey have made the agreement was wobbling on many occasions since then, leading to a new migration crisis last year, but also significantly reduced arrivals in Greece.
"I don't think we can copy and paste the EU-Turkey statement," said Johansson, who denies that the strategy is the same.
The Commissioner insisted that
the assistance will be adapted to each country,
and that in any case, there has not yet been a significant increase in arrivals of people seeking refuge as occurred then.
But the way of approaching the question, of course, is very similar.
A global problem, not a European one
"The Geneva Convention, EU law ... gives people the right to apply for asylum, but that is not the same as that all people who need international protection can come to the European Union and get protection here," said Johansson, who insisted on the need for a global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
The Commissioner announced that the EU will organize a forum in the coming weeks with the aim of coordinating with other countries, in addition to the UN,
new commitments to relocate people in
need of international protection. But on this, the member states are also divided.
While countries like Germany seek ways to
create new safe ways
out
of the country for those who have been left behind at the end of evacuations or Finland calls for increased relocation commitments to reflect the crisis in Afghanistan; other countries such as Austria or the Visegrad countries have already shown their refusal to host more refugees. For his part, the Minister of the Interior,
Fernando Grande-Marlaska,
assured that Spain was willing to assume the responsibility of reception that corresponded to it within the framework of the EU.
Initially, the Commission planned to offer
30,000
places in total for people entitled to international protection in any region of the world. Johansson did not want to give new figures because he understands that the situation on the ground is very volatile and it is difficult to predict how many people might be eligible for asylum. In the evacuation flights in recent weeks alone, it is estimated that European countries have removed around
15,000 Afghans.
Europe recognizes that many people from particularly vulnerable groups, such as women, activists, members of civil society or journalists, have been left behind and is studying how to create safe routes of arrival for them.
But any refugee relocation system will be voluntary, although the executive has promised to seek
formulas to financially compensate
those countries that are willing to take over.
"We have to avoid a humanitarian crisis, we have to avoid a migration crisis,
we have to avoid threats to our security,"
said the Commissioner, "but we have to act now, not wait for large migratory flows at our external borders or for them to terrorist organizations are stronger. "
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Austria
Ursula von der Leyen
European Comission
Syria
Refugees
InteriorMarlaska calls for progress in a common asylum policy in the face of the crisis in Afghanistan
Afghan Crisis Austria Opposes Participation In Delivering Afghan Refugees
EuropeEmmanuel Macron asks to prevent Afghanistan from becoming "an oasis for terrorists"
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