Brussels (Brussels Morning) Dear President Ursula Von der Leyen, Dear Vice President/High Representative Josep Borrell, Dear Commissioner Ylva Johansson
The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan is shocking the whole world. Thousands of civilians
– especially women, children and people who cooperated with the former Afghan institutions and with the “Western” actors on the field – are trying to escape the country. The images of people desperately grabbing on departing planes – and then falling down – or climbing walls with barbed wire are among the cruellest in the whole history, and these are only the most evident signs of the desperation of large shares of the Afghan people.
As a champion of human rights around the globe, the European Union cannot overlook what is happening in Kabul and in the whole of Afghanistan. Our credibility – and, by extension, that of the whole “West” – as a distinctive actor involved in the protection and advancement of human rights is at stake. Therefore, it is essential that we employ all the tools at our disposal to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people as much as possible. To this extent, a first and
essential step must be represented by protecting those Afghans who cooperated with us to various extents over the last 20 years.
In this regard, it is paramount to activate humanitarian corridors immediately. The urgency of this action is made even stronger by the fact that we already have the legislative and regulatory basis for doing so, but we have never used it. Indeed, the Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC establishes a “group protection status”, which can be applied in situations of crisis deriving from a mass influx of people escaping a situation of great danger such as the one currently ongoing in Afghanistan. The Temporary Protection Directive also establishes an emergency mechanism to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from third countries in those cases in which it is impossible to return to their Country of origin, and it also applies to mass influx situations. These are all criteria that are perfectly applicable to what is happening in Afghanistan in these days.
Although the Directive entered into force in 2001, its potential has never been exploited despite the several crises and emergencies the world – and the European neighbourhood – has faced in the last two decades. Now, it is time to put an end to this inaction, and Afghanistan would represent the perfect occasion for doing so. Indeed, the responsibility of the West in creating the current situation is not neglectable, and the support we received from the Afghan people in these twenty years has been substantial. We cannot turn our back to the Afghan people in the moment in which they need us more than ever, and this is the reason why we call on you, President of the European Commission, Vice President/High Representative, and European Commissioner for Home Affairs, to promote, in compliance with Directive 2001/55/EC and with the Support of the willing Member States and of the EU relevant Agencies a coordinated EU programme addressing the current Emergency situation. In particular, the European Commission should act as an “humanitarian broker” putting together and encouraging Member States in establishing comprehensive and effective programmes for protecting Afghan refugees.
Furthermore, President of the European Commission, Vice President/High Representative, and European Commissioner for Home Affairs, we believe it is paramount to engage in this effort also our historical partners, most notably the United States and the United Kingdom. Therefore, we call on you to immediately open diplomatic talks with the political and diplomatic leaders of these nations to find a common approach and implement concrete measures to guarantee the protection of those Afghans who supported our work in the country substantially.
We want to thank you in advance for your attention, and we are looking forward to your reply on this extremely alarming issue.
Sincere regards,
Fabio Massimo Castaldo, VP, NI, Italy
Laura Ferrara, MEP, NI, Italy
Brando Benifei, MEP, S&D, Italy
Maria Arena, MEP, S&D, Belgium
Carlos Zorrinho, MEP, S&D, Portugal
Tilly Metz, MEP, GREENS, Luxembourg
Francisco Guerreiro, MEP, GREENS, Portugal
Damien Careme, MEP, GREENS, France
Erik Marquadt, MEP, GREENS, Germany
Sylvie Guillame, MEP, S&D, France
Tineke Strik, MEP, GREENS, The Netherlands
Saskia Bricmont, MEP, GREENS, Belgium
Salvatore De Meo, MEP, EPP, Italy
Domenec Ruiz Devesa, MEP, S&D, Spain
Tiziana Beghin, MEP, NI, Italy
Milan Brglez, MEP, S&D, Slovenia
Chiara Gemma, MEP, NI, Italy
Maria Carvalho, MEP, EPP, Portugal
Marie Touissaint, MEP, GREENS,
FranceDaniela Rondinelli, MEP, NI, Italy
Reinard Butifoker, MEP, GREENS, Germany
Mounir Satouri, MEP, GREENS, France
Pierfrancesco Majorino, MEP, S&D, Italy
Massimiliano Smeriglio, MEP, S&D, Italy Patrizia Toia, MEP, S&D, Italy
Mario Furore, MEP, NI, Italy
Dino Giarrusso, MEP, NI, Italy
Pernando Barrena, MEP, The Left, Spain
Eleonora Evi, MEP, GREENS, Italy
Anna Cinzia Bonfrisco, MEP, ID, Italy
Eric Andrieu, MEP, S&D, France
Salina Yenbou, MEP, GREENS, France
Jordi Solé, MEP, GREENS, Spain
Sabrina Pignedoli, MEP, NI, Italy
Giuseppina Picierno, MEP, S&D, Italy
Eugen Tomac, MEP, EPP, Romania
Elisabetta Gualmini, MEP, S&D, Italy
Anne-Sophie Pelletier, MEP, The Left, France
Dietmar Koster, MEP, S&D, Germany
Isabel Santos, MEP, S&D, Portugal
Clare Daly, MEP, The Left, Ireland
Mick Wallace, MEP, The Left, Ireland
Alessandra Moretti, MEP, S&D, Italy
Othmar Karas, VP, EPP, Austria
Robert Biedron, MEP, S&D, Poland
Tatjana Zdanoka, MEP, GREENS, Latvia
Margarida Marques, MEP, S&D, Portugal
Thijs Reuten, MEP, S&D, The Netherlands
Idoia Ruiz Villanueva, MEP, The Left, Spain
François Alfonsi, MEP, GREENS, France
Yannick Jadot, MEP, GREENS, France
Caroline Roose, MEP, GREENS, France
Rosa D’Amato, MEP, GREENS, Italy
Claude Gruffat, MEP, GREENS, France
Benoit Biteau, MEP, GREENS, France
Ciaran Cuffe, MEP, GREENS, Ireland
Giuliano Pisapia, MEP, S&D, Italy
Ignazio Corrao, MEP, GREENS, Italy
Paul Tang, MEP, S&D, The Netherlands
Alessandra Moretti, MEP, S&D, Italy
Javier Nart, MEP, Renew, Spain
Grace O’Sullivan, MEP, GREENS, Ireland
Raphael Glucksmann, MEP, S&D, France
Samira Rafaela, MEP, Renew, The Netherlands
Pietro Bartolo, MEP, S&D, Italy
Demetris Papadakis, MEP, NI, Greece
Manuela Ripa, MEP, GREENS, Germany
Monika Vana, MEP, GREENS, Austria
Jan-Cristoph Oetjen, MEP, Renew, Germany
Andreas Schieder, MEP, S&D, Austria
Nicola Beer, VP, Renew, Germany
Dimitris Papadimoulis, VP, GUE/NGL, Greece
Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, MEP, S&D, Portugal
Thomas Waitz, MEP, GREENS, Austria
Svenja Hahn, MEP, Renew, Germany
Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, MEP, GREENS, France
