Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), took a stand on Sunday (August 22) in the heated debate ahead on the reception of Afghan refugees in Europe. “The EU will not open any migration corridor from Afghanistan”, he said in a tweet, accompanied by deceptive images of crowds of migrants.
“It is not the duty of the EU or of Slovenia to help and pay all the people of the planet who are fleeing, instead of fighting for their country”, he added. On Monday, the silence of other European leaders after these statements testified to the unease of member states over the fate of Afghans terrorized by the Taliban takeover, following the withdrawal of Western forces from the country.
The declarations of the Slovenian populist, whose untimely tweets have earned him the nickname “European Trump”, are not surprising in themselves. But Mr. Jansa claims to speak on behalf of the Twenty-Seven, taking advantage of the fact that Europe has not yet adopted a policy of welcoming Afghans in danger, such as journalists or employees of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). . The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, recalled that “It is not for the Council Presidency to say what the EU is going to do”. Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, said that the Slovenian had “No decision-making power” on the EU’s position.
Draw a European position
The United Kingdom said it was ready to welcome ” long-term “ 20,000 Afghan refugees, just like Canada. If the Twenty-Seven have undertaken to evacuate their local collaborators from Afghanistan, none has announced a quantified objective for the reception of other potential refugees. The divisions are becoming visible between the leaders, who insist on the control of the borders of the EU, but concede that it is necessary to protect those threatened, and those who hit the nail on the nail of a firm asylum policy. “We often talk about the lessons to be learned from the 2015 migration crisis. The fact that these divisions are harmful should have been one of them”, regrets Camille Le Coz, of the Migration Policy Institute.
On Sunday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz assured that his country would not welcome exiles from Afghanistan. Greece, at the forefront of migratory flows, has said it will prevent them from crossing its borders. Other countries are more ambiguous. Germany, which opened the door to more than a million Syrians in 2015, spoke of a welcome “Controlled” Afghans. President Emmanuel Macron assured France would take its part “As part of an organized and fair international effort”, but promised a “Robust response” of “Irregular migratory flows”.
You have 33.02% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.