Commissioner Ylva Johansson (Ylva Johansson) said after a meeting with the Minister of the Interior on Thursday (December 9) that a group of 15 EU member states had agreed to accept 40,000 Afghans for resettlement.
According to a document seen by Agence France-Presse, Germany will accept most of the new arrivals, 25,000, the Netherlands 3,159, Spain and France 2,500, and other countries have fewer people.
“And I think this is an impressive act of solidarity,” Johnson said, who believes that allowing more Afghans to move in a controlled manner will help prevent “irregular arrivals.”
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees had previously urged the group to accept 42,500 Afghans within five years, but some of the 27 member states refused.
An estimated 85,000 Afghans have fled their homes to countries close to the European Union. The Taliban’s occupation of Kabul coupled with severe drought may trigger new capital flows.
After the chaotic withdrawal of US troops and the return of the Taliban regime, in August, 24 EU countries have accepted 28,000 evacuees.
But Philippe Grandi, the head of the UN refugee agency, warned that 85,000 Afghans living in vulnerable situations outside the EU need to be resettled, and urged Europe to bear half of it.
Johnson had previously described this goal as “feasible”, but she still had to persuade member governments to confirm this number until after the meeting on Thursday.
According to documents seen by Agence France-Presse, the 40,000 Afghans are part of a larger 60,000 resettlement and humanitarian admission package promised by member states.
On a larger global scale, France and Sweden have made larger resettlement pledges of 5,000 and 4,200, but these are not necessarily Afghans. Belgium has pledged to provide places for 425 Afghans and 1,250 Afghans.
EU officials could not immediately give a timetable for new immigrants.
