European Commissioner Ylva Johansson spoke of journalists and Afghans who have worked for the respect of “fundamental rights”. “It is also essential to take into account the gender dimension, so that we can help women and girls,” she also noted.
The EU must welcome Afghans who are the subject of an “immediate threat” with the arrival to power of the Taliban, European Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Wednesday, calling on member states to “speed up” their reception operations refugees on their soil.
“We must prevent people from taking very dangerous journeys to arrive clandestinely to the borders of the EU. We must help them before that”, argued the Commissioner for Home Affairs, after a meeting in videoconference of European interior ministers.
“It is important that we help those who are the object of an immediate threat to settle in the states of the EU”, she insisted, referring to the “journalists” and the Afghans who worked for respect for “fundamental rights”. “It is also essential to take into account the gender dimension, so that we can help women and girls,” she also noted.
“Speed up” operations
Ylva Johansson called on member states to “speed up their operations” to receive refugees on their soil, by “increasing the quotas” of Afghans they can receive and by “providing them with additional legal avenues” to join the country. Europe.
“As we continue our work to counter the risks of irregular migration, combat human trafficking and manage our borders effectively, we also need to provide legal, secure and organized channels to settle in the EU” , hammered the commissioner in front of the ministers, according to the text of her speech.
According to her, it is about respecting “the complete and balanced approach” of the new European Pact on migration and asylum, presented by the Commission in September to reform the current system.
A hotly debated subject
If German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that she was open to the “controlled” reception of “particularly vulnerable” Afghan refugees who are fleeing the Taliban regime, the subject is hotly debated among the Twenty-Seven.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron called to “anticipate” the possible arrival of Afghans and to “protect themselves against significant irregular migratory flows” which “feed trafficking of all kinds”.
And Austria on Wednesday called on the EU to set up “detention centers” in neighboring countries of Afghanistan to detain Afghans expelled from Europe, Athens for its part wanting to return them to Turkey.
“A significant number of Afghans are already fleeing to neighboring countries. We must work closely with these countries and be ready to provide them with humanitarian and development assistance if necessary”, commented Ylva Johansson, referring to the cooperation already underway with the Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan.
On the other hand, “in the current situation in Afghanistan, it is not possible to return people there these days, it is not sure,” she insisted.
