The countries of the European Union will accept refugees from Afghanistan on an individual basis and on a voluntary basis.

This was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell at a press conference within the framework of an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the association in Ljubljana.

“Individual EU member states will, on a voluntary basis, make decisions on persons at risk, to whom they are ready to grant asylum,” said the head of European diplomacy.

He recalled that there are people in Afghanistan who helped the NATO mission and whose lives are now in danger.

In this regard, Borrell noted the need for joint action by the European Union in the issue of their evacuation and added that the ministers allowed the return of a common diplomatic mission to Kabul.

“In order for the evacuation of the people we are ready to receive in a coordinated manner, we, each member country, need a lot of involvement, significant contact and close presence.

This coordinated work will be carried out on the basis of the joint presence of the European Union in Kabul, coordinated by the European External Action Service, if security requirements are met, ”Borrell stressed.

Earlier, the Taliban * appealed to foreign states to resume the work of their embassies in the country.

“We… urge those who

left

it (Kabul -

RT

) to resume the work of the embassies.

There is no threat for them, ”the representative of the movement Shahabuddin Delaware quoted TOLOnews as saying.

  • Head of European Diplomacy Josep Borrell

  • © REUTERS / Johanna Geron

The head of European diplomacy, for his part, stressed that the EU is interested in close cooperation with Afghanistan's neighboring countries to resolve migration issues, as well as to respond to other challenges in the region.

For this, Borrell noted, the foreign ministers of the association considered it appropriate to launch a regional political platform under the auspices of the European External Action Service.

“This initiative will be based on the extensive relations of the European Union and individual EU states with these countries.

Within the framework of this political platform, issues such as managing the flow of people from Afghanistan, preventing the spread of terrorism, combating organized crime, including drug trafficking and illegal transportation of people, can be considered, ”the diplomat added.

Earlier, he reported that as of September 2, the EU countries evacuated a total of 17.5 thousand people from Afghanistan.

According to him, the entire staff of the EU mission, consisting of 520 employees and their families, was taken to a migration center specially created in Spain.

"Vital Goals"

Experts note that Borrell's statements were made against the background of contradictions among EU countries regarding the need to host new refugees.

In particular, the Central European states have taken a traditionally irreconcilable position on this issue.

Thus, the Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa on September 1 at the International Strategic Forum in the city of Bled said that "none of the EU member states is ready to repeat the situation of 2015 with open borders that arose after the crisis in Syria."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who also participated in the forum, spoke in the same vein.

According to him, newcomers from Afghanistan are driving out the indigenous people of Europe and are a threat to its cultural identity.

“Some countries agree to this, but Hungary is not among them.

We do not want to change the cultural identity of our country, ”he stressed.

The inadmissibility of the emergence of mass migration was mentioned in the statement of the ministers of the interior following the results of their extraordinary session within the framework of the EU Council, held on August 31.

It also stressed the importance of cooperation with the countries of the region on the issue of the influx of refugees and spoke of the need to strengthen external borders.

In turn, the head of the European Council Charles Michel expressed the opinion that at the same time pressure should be exerted on the new authorities of Afghanistan, one of the levers of which could be humanitarian aid.

“The new regime is cut off from the monetary reserves of the Afghan state, and it wants to preserve external economic ties as much as possible.

Humanitarian aid, in particular from Europe, will be critical to internal stability.

Recognition and cooperation with the international community are vital goals for the new regime in Kabul.

This leverage should be used for the benefit of the Afghan people, ”Michel said.

  • Taliban supporter at a checkpoint in Kabul

  • © REUTER / Stringer

Such sentiments were criticized by the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, who complained about the lack of support of the Afghan people from the Europeans.

“We have seen many countries outside the European Union that have met and welcomed Afghan asylum seekers, but we do not see a single EU country that has done the same,” he said.

According to him, the European Union cannot pretend that the Afghan issue does not concern it, since the EU actively participated in the military mission in the country.

"There is still no consensus"

Political analysts state that all the positive shifts of the EU regarding the fate of Afghan refugees are brought to naught due to the indecision of the European authorities, which are trying in every possible way to delay the moment when they have to personally immerse themselves in resolving this problem.

“This statement (Borrell. -

RT

) is correct from the point of view of ethics and morality, but its practical implementation is likely to be postponed indefinitely for now, because there is still no consensus between European states on how to behave in relation to these migrants, "Pavel Feldman, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, explained in a conversation with RT.

He also noted that the future of the EU diplomatic mission in Kabul looks vague due to the fact that the EU is only ready to set conditions for the Taliban, who do not intend to meet the EU halfway in everything.

“It is obvious that any EU requirements will not be met in the near future.

Therefore, most likely, the Europeans will not dare to open their offices there, even simply because no one will provide them with a 100% guarantee of the safety of employees, ”the expert is sure.

Professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, orientalist Alexander Vavilov said that the caution of the European Union in its promises about refugees is understandable.

According to him, the member countries of the association still cannot move away from the migration crisis of 2015, so the prospect of a new influx of refugees does not inspire them.

"Until now, many problems remain in European countries, including the threat of terrorism, the inability to adapt migrants to European culture, the need to spend large sums of money to resolve these issues," Vavilov recalled in a commentary on RT.

In this regard, analysts believe that the European Union will now try to use its regional partners to the maximum within the framework of the same political platform that Josep Borrell spoke about in order to prevent crowds of migrants at its borders.

“Most likely, the EU will allocate funds for the camps and will use these countries as a kind of filter.

However, such a deal could cause serious disagreements between governments and ordinary citizens who consider it unjustified, inappropriate, because it increases social tensions and the threat of terrorism, and also contributes to the growth of crime, "Feldman explained.

  • Flags of countries - members of the European Union

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Winfried Rothermel,

At the same time, Alexander Vavilov stressed that the authority of the European Union in the region is rather low, so not all states will meet the Europeans halfway: "Residents of Muslim countries treat Europeans quite dismissively, since they believe that Europe is basically a source of problems for them."

In addition, the experts recalled that the EU is going to involve other Western countries, such as Canada and the United States, in the issue of resettlement of Afghan refugees, as they bear the same responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan.

Analysts do not exclude that the impending migration crisis may cool relations between Brussels and Washington, which has set up its European allies in Afghanistan.

Pavel Feldman admitted that the United States had a good idea of ​​what such a hasty withdrawal of troops could turn out to be for the EU.

“The Afghan crisis is indirectly aimed at complicating the socio-economic position of the European Union as a competitor to the United States, because the influx of such a number of migrants will certainly affect the situation in the economy, public life, and create additional tension.

In turn, against this background, Washington will receive an additional advantage in competition with Brussels as a powerful production center, ”the analyst said.

Despite this, says Vavilov, the European Union continues to rely unconditionally on its strategic ally, although the precedents for the failure of US foreign policy are not unique.  

“European countries had high hopes for the United States in countering terrorists in Afghanistan and the Middle East in general.

However, the experience of Iraq, Syria and Libya has shown that these hopes are built of sand, ”Vavilov summed up.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.