Greece has finished construction of a wall and other security measures along its border with Turkey in order to prevent the anticipated surge of Afghan migrants and refuges from entering Greece and the rest of Europe. European Union countries are concerned that the events in Afghanistan will result in a similar situation to the 2015 refuge crisis in and throughout Europe. During that time Greece functioned as the gateway to Europe for the flood of refuges and so it is taking preventative steps from letting that happen again.

On Friday President Biden delivered an address updating the public on the evacuation process in Afghanistan. During that speech he re-iterated his commitment to evacuate all Americans and as many Afghan American allies as possible before the August 31, 2021 deadline. He also indicated that conditions at and around the airport in Kabul are under control and that American forces have been able to effectively protect and evacuate Americans from the country. However, in a military briefing mere minutes after the President’s address, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin contradicted the President telling Congress that the Taliban have beaten and harassed Americans and prevented some Afghan American allies from getting to the airport.