During the presentation, Minister Asselborn explained that the majority of last year’s refugees came from Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. He further provided insight into some of the asylum protocols and conveyed that not every Afghan citizen automatically receives refugee status in Luxembourg. Nevertheless, he also stressed that the Ministry always tries to assure that people can stay.
Our colleagues from RTL spoke to MP Paul Galles about the presentation. He explained that the situation is not only difficult for Afghans who live in their home country, but also for those who have already fled to neighbouring Iran. Galles believes that more nuance is needed to provide appropriate help.
The MP also lamented that Minister Asselborn failed to address rumours regarding the European Border and Coast Guard, also known as “Frontex”. Last year, allegations were made against the agency for illegally sending people back.
The CSV politician noted: “Criticism has not disappeared and the report issued by Frontex itself was unsatisfactory. We therefore demand that the Ministry, in cooperation with other foreign offices in the EU, keep monitoring the agency to ensure that people are treated humanly.”
CSV believe that more refugee centres need to be built in Luxembourg and that municipalities should have clear and straightforward means to help.
MP Nathalie Oberweis also commented on Minister Asselborn’s presentation. She thinks that the management of refugees is often misrepresented as a problem.
The politician explained: “Welcoming refugees should be a national policy rather than leaving it up to individual municipalities to manage asylum seekers. Every town should have a certain rate of people to take in.”
Furthermore, MP Oberweis showed little understanding that people from Afghanistan, who do not automatically receive refugee status, cannot be given subsidiary protection in systemic manner.
ADR’s MP Fernand Kartheiser has a different opinion on the Luxembourgish asylum policies, noting that fewer refugee centres were needed if the country changed its approach.
He stated: “Mister Asselborn was proud to announce that Luxembourg is one of the only, if not the only country to not send anyone back to Afghanistan. You can of course think that you are the only one to be right and that everyone else is wrong, but I don’t think that to be the case. We may risk portraying Luxembourg as a dream destination where everyone can stay, and that of course is not a desirable outcome for our country.”
During yesterday’s presentation, Minister Asselborn underlined that only one person was sent back to Afghanistan since 2015. However, he also stressed that since the Taliban took over in August, no EU member has sent people back to his knowledge.
