Austria, Czech Republic and Denmark refuse to accept Afghan refugees

Interior ministers from Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark agreed on Tuesday that Afghans fleeing their countries after the Taliban took power they must stay in the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and not come to Europe.

These headlines from Home also said that The 27 must support the territories of the region “better than in 2015”, when more than a million refugees arrived in the European Union, in particular because of the war in Syria.

The three ministers appeared together on their arrival at the Extraordinary Interior Council on Tuesday in Brussels, devoted exclusively to the migration angle of the Afghan crisis, with a view to look for strategies so that the immense migratory pressure they faced six years ago, when almost half of those seeking international protection in the EU were not breeding, are Syrians.

“People shouldn’t come to Europe, they should stay in the region. Our job is to stabilize the region and to ensure that the international organizations working there are properly funded, ”said Danish Interior Minister Mattias Tesfaye, who also urged“ not to criticize countries that support the European borders ”.

“We did it in 2015 and it should not be repeated now”He added, and made particular reference to Lithuania and Poland – before its crisis with Belarus – or Hungary, but also southern countries such as Spain.

His Czech counterpart, Jan Hamacek, also stressed the importance of supporting the countries bordering Afghanistan “better than in 2015” and urged “not to send a false message that could create hopes that will not be possible. be answered “.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer agreed that “the important thing is to send the right message”: “Stay there and we will support the region to help the people there”, he summed up. .

The opposing positions between several European countries – others, like Luxembourg, have asked to follow the example of non-EU countries which have already compromised the reception figures – strained the meeting of interior ministers in Brussels, according to European sources.

Meeting of the European Union

The European Commission on Tuesday urged EU interior ministers to act quickly to agree on a “global strategy” to avoid a “humanitarian and migration crisis” Afghanistan similar to that which occurred in 2015 with the arrival of more than a million migrants at the borders of the bloc.

This is the message that Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson conveyed to the 27 in press statements before attending the extraordinary meeting of sector ministers, convened to establish a common position on this issue.

“We are in a situation where we need a comprehensive strategy towards Afghanistan. We must avoid a humanitarian crisis, we must avoid a migration crisis and we must avoid security threats “, said the Swede facing the meeting.

“But then we have to act now and not wait for there to be significant flows of people at our external borders or for there to be stronger terrorist organizations. We must act now, ”warned the Head of the Interior of the Community Executive.

Johansson hoped that the meeting would serve to ensure that the Twenty-Seven would be able to adopt a joint declaration that sends a “strong message”, although he acknowledged that European capitals have “different views” on the situation in Afghanistan.

“It’s important to understand that everyone would like to avoid a situation like 2015 and we can do it. We are much more prepared. We must not wait for people to reach our borders “, insisted.

The Interior Commissioner also stressed the need to work so that women and girls and other Afghans who are in “immediate” danger in Afghanistan can leave the Asian country and be relocated, although she stressed that she is not part of this meeting and that it is something to discuss “globally”.

In this sense, Johansson assured that he was preparing a “new forum” with international partners focused on the relocation of Afghan citizens who are under “immediate threat” in Afghanistan. “This is something that of course we have to do globally with other countries.country ”, he affirmed, to specify later that a“ concrete objective ”of reception is not fixed.

(with information from EFE and EP)

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