TFor a long time the EU states had wrestled to come up with a joint declaration on the consequences of the Afghanistan debacle for migration and security in Europe. The first draft had been revised three times since Thursday until a joint and balanced text was available on Monday evening – just in time for the hastily convened meeting of EU interior ministers. But when they arrived in Brussels on Tuesday, the conflicts broke out again immediately: on the delicate question of how far the circle of those in need of protection should be drawn.
This time it was Jean Asselborn from Luxembourg who took a stand, the longest-serving foreign minister in the Union and the only one who is also the interior minister. For the first time in 17 years, he disagreed with a statement, he said. What he missed was a clear commitment from the European Union not only to help Afghan local workers, but also to judges, journalists and others who were in mortal danger after the Taliban came to power.
This point did not appear in the prepared declaration. Asselborn blamed the Slovenian Council Presidency, which had formulated and negotiated the text – and Austria. “I criticize the attitude of the Austrian Chancellor that just no refugees come to Europe. This is exactly the wrong thing the EU has to do at this moment, ”said the Luxembourger. One should rather “give hope” to the threatened people.
Incentives for illegal migration should be avoided
The Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, on the other hand, said: “The most important thing now is to send the right message to the region: stay there and we will support the region to help the people.” and Denmark in front of the cameras. One shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of 2015, seconded Mattias Tesfaye, Danish social democrat with an Ethiopian migration background. “Limits are important. We cannot criticize European countries that secure the EU’s external border, as we did in 2015. “
All three were satisfied with the tongues of the statement. The central message there was: “The EU and its member states are determined to act together and prevent the repetition of the uncontrolled, large-scale illegal migratory movements to which we have been exposed in the past. Incentives for illegal migration should be avoided. “
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer, who had not been in Brussels for a long time, could also live with the text, although its content was in the middle. Germany is basically ready to agree on admission programs for “particularly abused people”, said the CSU politician. But he doesn’t think it’s wise to talk about numbers now, “because they always create a pull effect, and we don’t want that.” Luxembourg, which only accepts small numbers of people, should be more considerate of the large host countries take, warned Seehofer.
A new group of victims
He too saw the main task of the EU now to be to support Afghanistan’s neighboring countries so that refugees can be cared for there. “If we do it right and quickly, then we will not see a repeat of 2015.” Before the meeting, the EU Commission had urged the member states to make concrete commitments for the resettlement of vulnerable Afghans. There was already a conference on this at the beginning of July, and in September the EU states are to promise the UNHCR a total of 30,000 places, not only for Afghanistan, but also for other countries.
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Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced that she was preparing a new conference that would focus particularly on Afghans. Then it will also be about numbers. Thereupon Asselborn also agreed to the declaration.
At the moment, of course, the debate on this is suffering from a conceptual fuzziness. Resettlement means, by definition, resettlement from third countries. That would affect Afghans who already live in Iran, Pakistan or Turkey but cannot be cared for there. On the other hand, Johansson – like others – spoke in the same breath on Tuesday about the resettlement of people who are directly threatened in Afghanistan. This is another group that the UNHCR has not yet addressed.
Great Britain and Canada as a model
The United Kingdom and Canada are often cited as role models, each aiming to take in a contingent of 20,000 vulnerable Afghans. But this by no means only applies to those who are already in neighboring countries; Thousands rescued since the fall of Kabul also count towards this. In the EU, no member state has specified a quota for itself. However, the circle of those who were flown out was defined differently. These included not only local workers, but also Afghans in need of protection for other reasons.
“Europe has left most of the local staff of the EU missions in the lurch,” criticized the Green MEP Sven Giegold to the FAZ. The EU Commission and national governments had argued about responsibilities until the troops had withdrawn. In fact, the EU had brought the staff of its mission in Kabul to safety, a total of 400 people, including Afghan workers and their families.
Most of the EU countries have agreed to accept admission places. In contrast, thousands of Afghan employees and project partners in emergency and development aid were left behind. As the highest head of human resources, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has a “personal responsibility to protect,” says the Greens.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/wrestling-of-the-eu-interior-ministers-what-responsibility-does-europe-have-for-afghans/
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