The foreign ministers of the EU countries are looking for the right way to deal with the new political situation in Afghanistan. Germany urges you to hurry.
The German government has given the militant Islamist Taliban the prospect that Germany will resume the currently stopped development aid payments for Afghanistan.
A prerequisite, however, is a government that does not only consist of the Taliban, explained Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at the beginning of consultations with counterparts from other EU countries in Slovenia. In addition, basic human and women’s rights must be protected and Afghanistan must not become a “new haven for terrorism”.
“Most people (…) will not be able to leave Afghanistan because of the closed borders,” said Maas. “That’s why you have to help the people in Afghanistan now, and for that you have to speak to the Taliban.”
The SPD politician called on the EU partners to pull together on the issue. “There is a new reality in Afghanistan – whether we like it or not. And we don’t have time to lick the wounds now, ”he said. If the European Union wanted to play a role, we had to act quickly now. Maas was alluding to the fact that China, for example, could expand power and influence in the region.
The EU foreign policy representative Josep Borrell made a similar statement. “We will have to talk to them (…) in order to solve practical problems,” he admitted, referring to the new rulers in Afghanistan. Among other things, it is about getting more vulnerable people out of the country. However, real political recognition can only be achieved if the Taliban acted in accordance with the values of the EU, stressed the Spaniard. The exact conditions will now be discussed.
Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) said he expected a “very clear common language”. There is clearly no leap of faith, but rather a “leap of confidence” towards the Taliban. On the issue of recognition, he said: “It makes a difference whether we have talks with them on a technical level or whether we recognize them as the legitimate representative of the state of Afghanistan.”
Schallenberg also spoke out again against acceptance by the EU for Afghans willing to flee. “I believe (…) that we have to be careful what signals we send to the region,” he warned.
The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, on the other hand, criticized the fact that some governments in the EU believed that Europe could only exist if it had as few refugees as possible. “In this situation we have to be ready to help the people in Afghanistan who are fighting for their lives,” he said. Europe must of course take in people.
The Baltic states and Poland meanwhile demanded a stronger engagement against the attempts of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to avenge himself for EU sanctions by smuggling through migrants from countries like Iraq or Afghanistan. The Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that much tougher punitive measures are needed now. For example, you should target tourism organizations.
The deliberations of the foreign ministers will continue this Friday. At the end of the meeting, dealing with China should also be a topic. The background to this block of talks is primarily Beijing’s efforts to secure power and influence in other regions of the world with massive investments. In addition, the EU remains concerned about the military armament of the People’s Republic and the crackdown on the democracy movement in Hong Kong.
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