EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the High Level Forum on the protection of Afghans at risk, convened on 7 October with High Representative Josep Borrell.
In particular, she welcomed the full involvement of Member States at ministerial level and “the strong commitment” to do more to ensure both further evacuations of people at risk in the country, but also to increase “humanitarian admissions and family reunification”.
“Many ministers have spoken out and said they are ready to do more”, the commissioner added at a press briefing, noting that member states have so far received 22,000 Afghans on their territory.
At the meeting, which was not open to the press, the Commissioner also received a request from Member States to coordinate work on evacuations, humanitarian admissions and on “medium and long-term resettlement” of Afghan refugees having taken refuge in neighbouring countries. A task force will be set up at the Commission for this purpose and regular meetings on resettlement will be launched.
No quantified commitment
Announced on 31 August at a meeting of EU interior ministers, the Forum was initially intended to focus on resettlement places ready to be released by Member States, but no specific commitment was made on 7 October and some criticised the Commission for a lack of organisation.
While some countries such as Italy, Finland, Portugal or Luxembourg have said, according to some sources, that they are committed to humanitarian admissions or family reunification, for example for 50 people in the case of Luxembourg or 1,000 in the case of Finland and Italy, the tone of the meeting was not one of quantitative announcements. Some Member States, such as Germany, are unable to commit to this as their government will be changing.
A caution that was not disappointing to the Commissioner, she assured, noting that to date no major population movements out of Afghanistan have been detected nor any increase in arrivals of Afghan migrants in the EU.
In any case, the meeting made it possible to agree on coordination of the work, for example by means of a common list of people that the Member States intend to evacuate or resettle. This list will help to better structure the evacuation work that was hastily carried out in August.
The Commissioner also announced the creation of a multi-annual support mechanism for Afghans, with the meeting also showing the need for a new financial proposal to free up new specific places for Afghans.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner, through its head, Filippo Grandi, said on Thursday that 85,000 Afghans would probably have to be resettled within 5 years, with the EU being asked to take “41,850”, the commissioner said.
EU interior ministers will discuss the situation in Afghanistan again in Luxembourg on 8 October. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)