The EU and Afghanistan hold a Senior Officials' Dialogue on Migration
Faced with unprecedented migratory challenges, the European Union and Afghanistan continue close engagement to discuss migration issues through the Senior Officials' Dialogue on Migration. The meeting of the Dialogue took place on 4 October, shortly after the signature of the "EU-Afghanistan Joint Way Forward on migration issues".
This document expresses a joint political commitment to effectively tackle the challenges linked to irregular migration and comes in support of Member States' bilateral efforts in a balanced, proportionate and humane manner. It ensures that asylum seekers whose applications do not meet the EU rules following all due processes will be properly reintegrated back to Afghanistan.
The result of six-month long negotiations, the "Joint Way Forward" provides a comprehensive framework for the future cooperation on return, readmission and reintegration. In addition to tackling practical aspects of cooperation on return and readmission, it seeks to jointly find solutions to common problems: raising awareness of the risks of irregular migration, breaking the smugglers' models and providing sustainable reception and reintegration for those who return to Afghanistan. It is a triple-win solution for Afghanistan, the European Union and its Member States, addressing an issue of major concern to our citizens.
During the meeting, the EU and Afghanistan discussed the priority areas when it comes to a smooth implementation of the "Joint Way Forward", and agreed to hold the first meeting of the Joint Working Group in the very near future.