ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2021) The situation in Afghanistan will be on the agenda of an extraordinary meeting of the EU Home Affairs Ministers, scheduled for Wednesday at the instance of five Mediterranean countries comprising Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Malta and Spain, that forms the so-called MED5, the Greek Ministry for Migration and Asylum said on Monday.
"At the request of MED5 the situation in Afghanistan is placed on the agenda of the extraordinary meeting of interior ministers of the European Union, which is to take place on Wednesday on August 18, in a form of videoconference after [Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Notis] Mitarachi sent a letter to the council's president Ales Hojs," the statement read.
The MED5 countries requested to discuss the emergency situation in Afghanistan and its potential impact on migration in the first receiving countries and elsewhere in the European Union.
As of late March, Greece granted asylum to 15,600 Afghan migrants, with 29,700 applications for asylum filed.
On Sunday, the Taliban took over the Afghan capital of Kabul, after which President Ashraf Ghani announced his resignation and left the country. Ghani said his decision was dictated by the desire to prevent violence as the militants were ready to carry out an attack on the capital. Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the movement had put an end to the 20-year war in the country.
