EU officials told reporters in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Wednesday (November 24) that the EU’s efforts in Central Asia to prevent human trafficking into Belarus had achieved “results” in the region.
At the end of his four-day visit to the region, EU Chief Diplomat Jose Puborel said: “The entire region has expressed its commitment to prevent the flow of migrants into Belarus.”
In Dushanbe, high-level EU delegations attended the EU-Central Asia meeting together with their counterparts, and the situation in and around the meeting Afghanistan has always been the top agenda.
“In the region, especially in Uzbekistan, the EU’s diplomatic contacts [to partner countries] It has been very effective,” said Jose Puborel, EU’s chief diplomat.
Borel told reporters during his visit to the region that Uzbekistan is one of the countries that recently imposed restrictions on flights to Belarus by transit passengers from six countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Yemen. . on Monday.
“The message to partners and the media in the region is that this is a trap and this message needs to be conveyed,” Borrell said.
In response to the question of whether the European Union would require Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbors to take more actions to stop the flow of migrants, he said that “there is no need to take further action because the authorities attach great importance to this topic”.
“The agreement has been reached. What about the exchange? No. It is nothing more than the well-being of their own citizens, because what they must protect is their own citizens, not our borders,” Borrell said.
“If they see their people being cheated, pay a lot of money to travel, and then stand in front of the closed border and have to go back, it is of course in their own interest,” he said.
“We have to thank them for their cooperation, but we understand that everyone has their own interests, the interests of their people, so they will do this,” he said.
“So, the task is complete-Central Asia will not participate in human trafficking to Belarus,” Borel said.
However, the EU’s chief diplomat emphasized that now is the time to take care of those who have fled.
financial support
When speaking with Borrell, the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said that “the main goal of the European Union is to prevent the collapse of Afghan society”.
Of the EU’s 1 billion euro support package for Afghanistan, nearly half is dedicated to neighboring countries affected by the crisis.
“In terms of regional support related to Afghanistan, we are cooperating with UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration,” she said, adding that the EU is providing assistance to Pakistan, Iran and other countries through a project related to the displacement of Afghanistan, as well as China Sub-country.
“We do not require Central Asian countries to accept refugees from Afghanistan-this is not our message,” Urpilainen said.
Earlier in the summer, several EU member states proposed Set up deportation center Neighboring countries in Afghanistan.
“But we know that if there is a flow of people from Afghanistan to Central Asian countries, and there are many displaced people, of course, we have a responsibility to help neighboring and Central Asian countries integrate into society and provide assistance to these people,” she said.
In Dushanbe, the EU delegation visited a number of projects, including a school and a project for the placement of refugee children.
Blacklist airlines
Several Middle Eastern airlines have stopped or reduced flights to Minsk because Brussels complained that migrants were lured to Belarus and offered false promises of routes into EU member Poland.
On Tuesday (November 23), senior EU officials announced that the EU will develop a sanctions “blacklist” that will include travel and transportation companies involved in trafficking immigrants to the EU on the sanctions list for approval by Parliament and member states.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg: “We have proposed rules to include all means of transport and methods involving trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants as black List.”
She added that these measures will be coordinated with the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
Michel also stated in a speech to members of the European Parliament that the Belarusian airline Belavia will be the target of attacks, which leases most of its aircraft from companies in EU member states (especially Ireland).
“We will not allow the Belarusian regime to intimidate us and undermine our values and our unity,” he said, citing only “an example” to illustrate their sanctions.
