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Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg greets Ankie Broekers-Knol of the Netherlands at the summit
EUROPEAN ministers face criticism over a summit on Afghanistan that focused on how to keep refugees out rather than assist them.
A joint statement on the crisis released last night was almost scuppered as Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn slammed colleagues for their warped priorities. “The primary goal is to support people who are in mortal danger, who no longer live in freedom … It’s not to secure borders and to organise repatriation,” he stormed.
But Mr Asselborn agreed to withdraw his veto after EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson offered an extraordinary meeting of the High Level Resettlement Forum to look at resettling Afghan refugees later.
CLAUDIA WEBBE looks at how Britain’s Nato ally has upped the stakes in its effort to silence domestic dissenting voices
The desperate French president keeps running up the same political cul-de-sac. DENNIS BROE offers an explanation
