European Official: We Have A 'Moral Duty' To Help Afghan Refugees

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/ [login to see] /european-nations-face-challenges-offering-refuge-to-afghan-refugees
European Commissioner Ylva Johansson believes Europe has an obligation to help Afghan refugees.

"We have a lot of people that have been fighting for our values and done that in a real good way in Afghanistan. And it's our moral duty now to do everything we can to protect them and evacuate them to a safe home," Johansson told NPR's Rachel Martin.

Johansson, who handles migration and home affairs for the bloc, has been working to reach a deal, but the 27 EU member nations have yet to agree.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized the holdouts in her annual State of the Union address, saying that they must work together on a solution.

"This ultimately comes down to a question of trust. Trust between member states. Trust for Europeans that migration can be managed. Trust that Europe will always live up to its enduring duty to the most vulnerable and most in need," von der Leyen said.

Johansson believes part of that mistrust stems from 2015, when more than a million people came to Europe seeking asylum. Many were from Syria.