The Austrian president called for the reception of more refugees from Afghanistan – Aktuality.sk

At the official opening of the European Alpbach Forum, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen called for the reception of more refugees from Afghanistan. He spoke in contrast to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who had previously stressed that he refused to provide protection to other people fleeing the Central Asian country, despite the current situation where the radical Taliban movement had taken power.

According to him, the European Union and the individual Member States have a legal, moral and political obligation to offer protection to all those who have to leave their homeland. The priority should be to provide assistance to women and girls who have worked for the EU or its Member States, Van der Bellen said, according to the APA.

During the discussion after his speech, he admitted that Austria has indeed received many refugees in recent years, including Afghan citizens. However, he added: “This is irrelevant. Adopting 100, 500 or 1000 families would be technically possible, of course.” He responded to Chancellor’s arguments about alleged problems with Afghan integration by saying that most of them were doing well in the country.

The second largest group in Europe

There are currently more than 40,000 Afghans in Austria, the second largest group in the European Union in relation to the population of the host country. The course suggested that people from Afghanistan should be helped in neighboring countries, which the EU should also support in this regard.

Andreas Treichl, the new head of the European Alpbach Forum, said at the beginning of the event that Europe was strong enough and did not rely on the United States during crises such as the one in Afghanistan.

The Alpbach European Forum, which has been held annually in the Tyrolean village of the same name since 1945, takes place this year from 18 August to 3 September. This year, experts from science, politics, the economy, culture and civil society are addressing a number of key topics, such as the coronavirus or climate crisis and the future of Europe.

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