“The best way to avoid a migratory crisis is to prevent a humanitarian crisis,” said the European Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the interior ministers of the twenty-seven in Brussels, to try to achieve a common posture in case
of a new migratory crisis after the collapse of Afghanistan before the progress of the Taliban.
But in thesolete that the Member States of the European Union seem to prevent the Scenes from 2015, when more than one million people arrived in Europe in an irregular manner fleeing from the war in Syria, are repeated by collaping the system
of community asylum.
And yet, recipes for this new emergency are not very different from then.
EU countries are willing to provide their support for Afghans, as long as they do not come to Europe.
The meeting was long, tense, and in it the ministers exhibited the differences between the anti-migration hard nucleus and those who are willing to make an extra effort in the welcome before the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan.
In the final statement, signed by the twenty-seven, the holders of the Interior call in any case to strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries and increase humanitarian aid to ensure that those who flee from Afghanistan stay in the region.
Although in the statement there is no concrete figure, 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, which the EU expects to channel to channel
Through the organizations in the field, and in particular the United Nations.
“The EU will reinforce its support for third countries, particularly neighboring and transit countries, which welcome a large number of migrants and refugees, to strengthen their ability to provide protection, dignified and safe and safe livelihood and livelihoods
For refugees and host communities, “reads the statement in which ministers point to” lessons learned “, in clear reference 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 goal is that “those who need it receive adequate protection mainly in the region.”
But the twenty-seven also calls cooperating with those countries to prevent irregular arrivals to Europe.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has been hanging on the phone, 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, reinforcement of borders and the fight against terrorism or drug trafficking.
The recipe for humanitarian aid in exchange for increasing border control is not new in EU migration policy.
In March 2016, the EU launched a similar strategy to the intense migratory flow through the eastern Mediterranean route, which was also aware of the lives of thousands of people.
The leaders of European governments closed an agreement with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, so that the country would take care of Syrian refugees in exchange for 3,000 million euros in humanitarian aid.
Tensions with Turkey have made the agreement stale in not a few occasions since then, giving rise to a new migratory crisis last year, but also significantly reduced arrivals to Greece.
“I do not think we can copy and paste the EU-Turkey statement,” Johansson said he 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 the arrivals of people in search of refuge as occurring then.
But the way to approach the question, of course, is very similar.
“The Geneva Convention, EU Law … entitles people to apply for asylum, but that is not the same as all people who need international protection can come to the European Union and obtain protection here,”
Johansson said, who insisted on the need for a global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
The Commission 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 who need international protection.
But in this, Member States are also divided.
While countries such as Germany seek the way to create new safeways from the country for those who have been left behind at the conclusion of evacuations or Finland calls to increase relocation commitments to reflect the crisis in Afghanistan;
Other countries such as Austria or the countries of Visegrad have already shown their refusal to welcome more refugees.
For its part, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said that Spain was willing to assume the welcome responsibility that corresponded to him within the framework of the EU.
Initially, the Commission intended to offer 30,000 places in total for people entitled to international protection in any region of the world.
Johansson has not wanted to give new figures because he understands that the situation in the field is very volatile and it is difficult to predict how many people could be susceptible to having the right to asylum.
Only on evacuation flights of recent weeks, it is estimated that European countries have taken around 15,000 Afghans around 15,000.
Europe acknowledges that many people of particularly vulnerable groups, such as women, activists, members of civil society or journalists, have been left behind and studying how to create secure arrival ways for them.
But any refugee relocation system will be voluntary, although the executive has committed to seek formulas to economically compensate those countries that are willing to take charge.
“We have to avoid a humanitarian crisis, we have to avoid a migratory crisis, we have to avoid threats to our safety,” said the Commissioner, “but we have to act now, not wait to have great migratory flows at our external borders or to that
Terrorist organizations are stronger. ”
