Romania is willing to take refugees at „imminent risk” from war-torn Afghanistan “conditionally” after they have passed security checks, interior minister Lucian Bode said Monday.
He said journalists, magistrates and students who have grants to study in Romania would be considered as well as others „who are in imminent danger in Afghanistan,”
‘There is a single condition: checks will be carried out by state security services,” he said.
“Romania has the capacity to receive migrants,” he added.
Romania was one of NATO’s European members that invested substantial resources and manpower in the 20-year-mission in Afghanistan.
Its involvement means it has a moral obligation to receive migrants, in the face of a wary public.
The country has two closed-circuit asylum centers with 200 places which were currently about 60% full, the minister added. On top of that, there are 751 free places at six other asylum centers.
More than 32,000 Romanian soldiers served under the NATO umbrella. Twenty-seven died and 200 were injured.
Mr Bode said 47,000 migrants without documents had tried to enter Romania this year. Some 10,000 managed to enter and 37,000 were turned back.
„Romania is on the Western Balkan transit route. We have sent forces to the western border. (We) are prepared for a new wave of migrants,” he added.
More than 6,100 asylum requests were lodged in Romania in 2020. Most were at centers in Timisoara, Bucharest and Maramures., EC.Europa reported.
Some 2,400 Afghans and 1,460 Syrians submitted asylum requests.
A total of 2,480 asylum requests were resolved at the administrative level and 667 people were granted international protection.
About 103 family reunification applications from people with international protection in Romania were approved.
Romania last week sent a military aircraft to Kabul to airlift Romanians and other nationals as part of the international rescue effort after the Taliban takeover.
Washington will withdraw all its remaining troops on Tuesday.
