The fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the chaotic international evacuation effort shows that Europe needs to develop its own military capacity independent of the United States, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell argues.
In an interview with AFP, Borrell said European powers would struggle to evacuate their citizens and Afghan allies before the United States ends its operation at Kabul airport -- perhaps as early as August 31.
The EU diplomatic mission in Kabul counts 400 Afghan staff and family members that would be eligible to emigrate to Europe -- but only 150 have been able to leave so far and some of the planes dispatched by EU militaries are flying out half-empty. European policy makers fear that Kabul will not be a one-off and that future crises in Iraq or in the Sahel region of West Africa could require similar military missions to secure European citizens and interests -- perhaps without US support."I regret greatly the way in which things have gone, but no-one asked for the opinion of the Europeans," he said.
As events unfolded in Kabul, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who hosts EU leaders' summits, tweeted: "The situation in Afghanistan is not a success story for the international community.
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