In a statement EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said, Europe must take potential security threats arising from migration out of Afghanistan more seriously.

“On the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, I must say that my assessment is that the alert level is not high enough. We really need to do more,” said Johansson following a meeting with her EU counterparts in Luxembourg.

The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban’s in August this year has redoubled fears in Europe of a 2015 replay when nearly 1 million asylum-seekers, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, fled to Europe by crossing from Turkey to Greece.

Although currently, the EU does not see such a big movement of migrants towards its borders, the world has a moral responsibility to protect Afghans at risk, said Johansson. She urged member states to thoroughly screen and register all those arriving from Afghanistan.

“This is really important for security. And I must say that I am pretty concerned about the huge risk of Al Qaeda being able to recover again in Afghanistan,” said Johansson while adding, there are a number of reasons for Afghans to flee their home country.

“The situation in Afghanistan is really dire, there is a huge risk of economic collapse, there is huge risk of famine and humanitarian catastrophe,” said Johansson.

According to the United Nations, around half a million people have been displaced within Afghanistan in recent months; the number will grow significantly if the Afghan economy continues to trod downhill.

Categories: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, HR & Organization, Strategy

Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, alert level, assessment, asylum seekers, economic collapse, economy, EU, EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Europe, European Union, famine, humanitarian catastrophe, migration, security threats, taliban, terrorist threat, Ylva Johansson