Spain has established itself as the hub of the European Union to accommodate Afghans who have worked with its institutions for many years, because Germany has stated that a consensus is being reached within the European Union and it is also facilitating retaliation for the few others who need the protection of the Taliban.
However, immigration experts warn that the vast majority of Afghan citizens have been displaced by the fighting. Put the new regime in power Unless European countries actively work to negotiate a safe passage, they will be stranded.
The Western countries that have a presence in Afghanistan are Scrambling to evacuate national citizens and local Afghan staff Among Chaos at Kabul Airport After being taken over by the Taliban after the U.S. military withdrew, he was in trouble.
In addition to the evacuation efforts of individual countries, the first group of Afghan evacuees organized by the European Union’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs arrived at Torrejón Air Base in Madrid on Thursday with 36 people on board.
“Spain is a port of entry. We will receive them within a few days and then distribute them to various EU countries,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Friday.
According to Spanish officials, the top 36 will eventually settle in Denmark, Germany, Poland and Lithuania.
UNHCR said that since the beginning of this year, at least 120,000 Afghans have fled from rural areas to Kabul Province, but the vast majority of them are still trapped in the country.
“We have not seen a large number of refugees from Afghanistan,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.
Immigration experts warned that recent memories of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015, and Europe Failure to manage it is preventing European countries from proposing aggressive rescue plans.
Gerald Knaus, co-founder of the European Stability Initiative (ESI) think tank, said: “There is a widespread misunderstanding that desperate people cannot be prevented from leaving a country-if they are pushed back at the border, it is simply not true.”
He said: “By 2021, states will control their borders with force and brutality, but not in 2015.” Turkey is strengthening its border with Iran, while Pakistan is about to complete the fence with Afghanistan.
Knaus said that although the main route into Europe is blocked, Afghan refugees “will not just arrive spontaneously.” Instead, he urged willing countries to negotiate with the Taliban on safe corridors and resettlement plans for Afghans eager to leave the country, inspired by the rescue efforts of people who fled Vietnam after the 1975 war.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Thursday that members of Afghan society “particularly worthy of protection”, such as journalists or human rights activists, will not need to apply for asylum to arrive in Germany in the future, but will be treated equally. Local staff of German government agencies and obtain a three-year residence permit.
After a conference call with the EU’s interior ministers on Thursday, Sihofer said he believes that “all major countries” agree on the need to facilitate the passage of particularly vulnerable people.
But he declined to specify how many people want to obtain this special status, only saying that “we don’t consider the numbers that will subvert our immigration policy.”
In contrast, the UK stated that it will specifically accept 20,000 Afghans “threatened by the current crisis”, especially women, girls and religious minorities.
The vast majority of refugees need to take refuge in neighboring countries of Afghanistan, Seehofer said: “The first task is accommodation in neighboring countries and the support of countries in the region.”
His comments echoed the concerns expressed by several European governments this week about the recurrence of the influx of refugees in 2015.
Austria is the world’s fourth largest Afghan diaspora community after Pakistan, Iran and Germany. The government stated that there is no reason to accept more Afghan refugees in the future after the Taliban takes over.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer stated: “Illegal immigrants passing through dozens of safe states must be prevented, and immigrants choose their destination countries in these states.” “Afghan citizens have no reason to come to Austria now.”
Switzerland, which has hosted approximately 14,500 Afghan refugees, also stated that it is not prepared to accept more than approximately 230 local Afghan staff and their families.
Greece, which was on the front line of the 2015 immigration crisis, stated that it does not want to be an entry point for Afghans fleeing the escalating conflict to enter the European Union. The European Union needs to make a joint response.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a televised speech that he has an obligation to help those threatened by the Taliban, but “Europe alone cannot afford the consequences of the current situation”.
Angela Merkel’s leader of the Christian Democratic Union and one of the front-runners to succeed her as prime minister, Armin Raschelt, said: “We should not send a signal that Germany can accept all those in need.”
The three Balkan countries — Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia — have so far committed to a certain number of Afghan refugees who will seek refuge in their home countries when processing their visa applications to the United States.
The Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev (Zoran Zaev) has agreed to serve as a transit country for 450 Afghan women, students and human rights activists. “This is a very clear question: is it humane or inhumane.”
