EU Commissioner says Afghanistan refugee crisis could pave way for common migration policy

Citing the current social and political turmoil in Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover, European Union Commissioner Margaritis Schinas has said that the situation in the war-torn country could pave the way for the formation of a common migration policy. The Taliban’s sweeping advance last month has sparked fears that Europe could face a migration crisis similar to that in 2015 when the arrival of one million migrants stretched security and welfare systems. In an interview with Austrian daily Wiener Zeitung, Schinas noted that the world is in a “major crisis,” however, he added that the EU did not cause the situation, yet the bloc has been called upon to be a part of a solution. 

The EU Commissioner said that he wanted to “avoid a reflex” that takes Europe back to the crisis year 2015 “before it is even clear how the situation will develop”. He further said that the EU was prepared in a better way this time with “stronger external border protection and financial resources” to assist Afghanistan’s neighbours, while EU states’ policies were increasingly converging. “Therefore, I see now as the moment to agree on a common European migration and asylum policy, as we proposed in the EU Commission in September,” Schinas said. 

Further, the EU Commissioner said that migration has long foiled the unity among the 27-member bloc. He said that the difference remained among members, with strong resistance to a deal among the “populists on the right and left fringes”. However, he also said that he saw a window for a solution after the French presidential polls in May 2022, by when there would also be a new government in Germany. 

EU may spend €300 million to resettle 30k refugees 

Meanwhile, anti-migrant sentiment is running high in Europe. Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has reiterated his decision to not take migrants, saying that a potential Afghan wave in Europe must not take place. Greece has also completed a 40-kilometre wall on its border with Turkey and installed a surveillance system to prevent possible asylum seekers from trying to reach Europe after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. The Greek government has already said that it would not allow refugees to cross into Europe and would turn people back. 

EU countries are trying to avoid another large-scale influx of migrants and refugees from Afghanistan. Several EU officials have suggested setting up “deportation centres” in countries neighbouring Afghanistan so that European countries can deport Afghans who have been denied asylum even if they cannot be sent back to their homeland. The European Union has even floated a plan to spend 300 million euros to resettle nearly 30,000 Afghan refugees inside the bloc in an attempt to avoid a migration crisis. 

The European Union is also considering a 600 million euro (USD 709 million) assistance package for the neighbouring nations to fund the refugee influx from Afghanistan. A report carried by FT revealed that the EU will provide the financial package for Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and other regional neighbours of Kabul for hosting the immigrants from Afghanistan following the abrupt and hasty withdrawal of the US troops that granted Taliban control of the territory. 

(Image: AP)