EU panic as bloc poised to offer Pakistan cash to halt new migrant crisis

INTERNATIONAL DESK: THE European Union could offer cash to Afghanistan’s neighbours to house people fleeing the Taliban in the hope of stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.

Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top foreign diplomat, said he would provide support to countries in the regions to cope with the “negative spillovers” that can be expected from increasing numbers of refugees.

The plans were discussed at an emergency meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers called to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. A growing number of European governments are fearful that the Taliban’s Afghan takeover could spark a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis.

During that period the EU was rocked by almost a million people arriving from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan via the Mediterranean.

In 2016, Brussels agreed to fork out billions of pounds to Turkey in the hope of controlling illegal migrant crossings into the bloc.

They agreed a five-year deal under which Ankara was given €6billion to stop the flow of migrants to Greece.

The money was meant to help cover the costs of hosting some 72,000 migrants who had illegally travelled from Turkey to the EU, as well as bolstering a crackdown on people smugglers. (Daily Express)