Migration is back at the very top of the EU's agenda as interior ministers meet in Brussels to discuss how to deal with the potential mass arrival of refugees fleeing the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Ministers from the 27 member states, together with representatives from the European Commission, will attempt to define a collective, unified strategy to help stabilize the region and ensure the EU's borders are not overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of asylum seekers. According to a draft statement seen by Euronews, interior ministers will emphasize the need to increase support for neighboring and transit countries, such as Pakistan, which are poised to be the immediate destination of those seeking to leave Afghanistan. "We should not wait until we have Afghani refugees at our external borders. We have to intervene much earlier. And that also, of course, includes money," Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, told Euronews last week. The EU is determined to avoid a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis when more than 1 million migrants arrived at the bloc's external borders. Back then, Afghans were the second-largest group of refugees, after Syrians. The episode polarized domestic politics and still reverberates across the continent. Following the 2016 EU-Turkey deal, which is credited with a significant reduction of arrivals, the bloc will once again rely on third countries to prevent migrants from reaching the continent. The draft statement also calls on EU countries to avoid "incentives to illegal migration" and combat "the narratives used by smugglers" that encourage people to embark on EU-bound journeys. The term "illegal migration" is disputed due to its criminal connotations. The Commission prefers to use "irregular migration" for its official communications. On the question of resettlement, which proved to be extremely divisive in 2015, interior ministers leave the door open to "resettlement on a voluntary basis" giving priority to vulnerable people, such as women and children. However, this call for solidarity constitutes a brief note in the overall text, whose main focus is the prevention of uncontrolled, large-scale migration. It is still unclear if the final statement will include a precise number of refugees that the EU — or a smaller group of member states — commits to welcome as an expression of international solidarity. Security is another recurring topic throughout the text. Interior ministers insist on the need to avoid Afghanistan becoming again a sanctuary for terrorists and organized crime groups, a scenario that would "lead to new security threats for EU citizens". Ministers also call on Frontex, the EU agency in charge of border management, to block unauthorized entries, assist frontline member states and carry out security checks. "The EU must stop treating people as security threats and meeting forced displacement with walls and rejection. Instead, it should set an example in aiding those in need," Maria Nyman, Caritas Europa's secretary general, said in a statement. "We urge EU countries to make ambitious resettlement pledges, scale up the use of other types of safe passages, such as humanitarian corridors and refugee scholarships, and simplify family reunification procedures." Tuesday's extraordinary meeting in Brussels takes place mere hours after the United States completed its evacuation operations, putting an end to America's longest war and cementing the Taliban's victory. European countries wrapped up their evacuation efforts in the days leading up to the withdrawal of US troops. — Euronews
