European Union Should Support Afghanistan's Neighbours, Says Foreign Policy Chief: Report

The return of the hardline Islamist group to power in Kabul on August 15 has plunged the future of many Afghans into uncertainty and sparked concern that millions may seek refuge in neighbouring countries and Europe.

The European Union should provide financial support to countries neighbouring Afghanistan to help them manage refugees fleeing the Taliban, the bloc's foreign policy chief said in an interview published Monday. The return of the hardline Islamist group to power in Kabul on August 15 has plunged the future of many Afghans into uncertainty and sparked concern that millions may seek refuge in neighbouring countries and Europe. "We will have to increase cooperation with the neighbouring countries to resolve issues related to Afghanistan. We must help them with the first refugee wave," Josep Borrell told Italy's Corriere Della Sera newspaper. "Afghans fleeing the country are not going to reach Rome in the first place, but maybe Tashkent (in Uzbekistan). We need to help those countries that will be on the front line."