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In a letter to Interior and Immigration Secretary Magnus Brunner, Belgium’s Asylum and Migration Minister Anneline van Bosschut announced on Saturday that 20 European countries have come together to press the European Commission to find a way to voluntarily or forcibly deport Afghans living in Europe illegally.
Many EU countries have said that the fact that Afghans cannot now be expelled poses a threat to their security and “undermines public confidence in asylum policy” as there is no formal repatriation agreement with Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in 2021.
The initiative, led by Belgium’s Minister of Refugees and Immigration Anneline van Boscht, is a collaboration between 18 other countries in the EU and Norway: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.
They are calling on the European Commission to make the return of Afghans a top priority, including negotiating with the Taliban regime to agree a repatriation policy.
Mr Van Bosschut proposed giving the EU border agency Frontex a stronger role in organizing and supporting voluntary returns through EU reintegration programmes. Meanwhile, on forced repatriation, the letter suggests that priority should be given to those deemed dangerous or criminal, through a joint mission to Afghanistan between the Commission, the EEAS, and Member States wishing to participate.
Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, Russia is the only country to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. Nevertheless, Germany, led by Friedrich Merz’s conservative government, is close to reaching a deal with the Taliban for the return of Afghans, who form Germany’s second-largest group of asylum seekers. The Mertz administration conducted a flight to deport 81 Afghans in July and hopes other European countries will follow suit.
But Germany’s actions have previously been criticized by the United Nations, as Afghanistan remains under a “recommendation of no return,” according to Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency.
Meanwhile, Arafat Jamal, another UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) official, said: “We have documented continued human rights violations in Afghanistan.”
