EU to pledge $709m financial aid for nations housing refugees from Afghanistan

European Union is considering a 600 million euro (USD 709 million) assistance package for the neighbouring nations to fund the refugee influx from Afghanistan. As hundreds of thousands of Afghans flee Kabul after the Taliban takeover, the EU aims to deter the turmoil similar to the Syrian refugee crisis during 2015 as decades of upheaval, conflict and displacement caused the worst humanitarian conditions, with millions sliding into hunger as per the WFP. On Tuesday, 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. 

“Many EU capitals have warned that the bloc must act to prevent a situation akin to the 2015 refugee crisis provoked by the war in Syria,” the FT report stated. It further elaborated that the EU has scrambled to take actions to prevent the Syrian war scenarios wherein millions of immigrants entered the EU leading to the political standoff between the member states about hosting the asylum seekers.

EU is now in the process of approving financial aid for the neighbours of Kabul so that those fleeing the Taliban regime can find refuge nearby rather than migrating all the way to Europe. “It could mean Brussels providing cash to Pakistan, possibly to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and even to Iran, which is under international sanctions,” the FT report claimed, citing sources familiar with the development. 

Home Affairs ministers from the EU summoned an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to hold talks on Afghanistan refugees as the final US aircraft carrying the last troops flew out of Kabul, reports suggest. European Commission had earlier swore an additional  €21 million in humanitarian aid for Afghan refugees in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. The announcement was made at the International Conference on 40 Years of Hosting Afghan Refugees held in Pakistan.

Iran and Pakistan 'biggest hosts' of Afghan refugees

EU's emergency assistance will also help families affected by the recent extreme weather conditions in the areas of Baluchistan and Pakistan Administered Kashmir, the commission stated. EU views Iran and Pakistan as the biggest hosts of Afghan refugees worldwide. “Financial support is needed in the host countries in true partnership and burden-sharing,” the EU says in a press release. Since 2014, the EU has allocated a comprehensive package of over €2.7 billion in response to the Afghan crisis, including humanitarian, development and stabilisation support in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič said: “The EU continues to stand by the people of Afghanistan, as well as the many who have fled to neighbouring countries. I commend Pakistan and Iran for hosting millions of refugees. Our funding will provide refugees and host communities with basic services, such as health, education, and water supply.”