The European Union is preparing to host Taliban representatives in Brussels for the first time since the group returned to power in Afghanistan. The main agenda items for the talks, planned for Tuesday, will be irregular migration from Afghanistan to the EU and the return of Afghan citizens whose asylum applications have been rejected in EU countries.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Foreign Ministry told journalists that after a security assessment, visas were issued to five members of the Taliban delegation on Monday, and these visas are valid only for Belgium and for a single day.
Scope and conditions of the talks
The European Commission announced that it invited Taliban officials to discuss irregular migration and returns with the 27-member bloc. Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert stated that member states are exploring ways to return individuals who have committed serious crimes or could pose a security threat, and that the Commission is following this initiative.
According to a letter seen by Reuters news agency and addressed to Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the meeting will focus on "the return and acceptance of Afghan citizens who have no right to stay in the European Union."
However, the Commission emphasized that this meeting does not mean Brussels formally recognizes the Taliban. Many senior Taliban leaders remain under EU sanctions, and the EU did not disclose the identities of the Taliban representatives attending the talks.
Reaction from human rights organizations
Human rights organizations demanded that the Commission abandon its plans to meet with the Taliban. Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, "Any engagement with the Taliban must prioritize the protection of human rights and accountability, not returning people to danger there."
In a statement, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International's European Institutions Office, said, "The desperate scenes of people fleeing Afghanistan – including EU personnel – are a recent memory. It is unconscionable that the EU is now trying to return people to an Afghanistan that has become even more dangerous since then."
Background and EU migration policy
Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, it is known that they have restricted rights through steps such as limiting women's freedom of movement, banning girls from education beyond primary school, and enforcing morality laws that restrict freedom of expression and access to employment. European governments also closed their embassies in Kabul when the Taliban administration came to power.
EU migration chief Magnus Brunner argued earlier this month that Brussels has no choice but to talk to the Taliban government about returning Afghan asylum seekers who enter the 27-member bloc through irregular routes.
Public opinion hardening on migration and the electoral successes of the far-right across the continent have pushed European governments to adopt a tougher stance on migration. According to the EU's migration agency, EU countries received approximately one million asylum applications from Afghans between 2013 and 2024.
Last year, nearly 20 of the EU's 27 members expressed interest in returning a number of migrants without the right to stay to Afghanistan, particularly those with criminal convictions. EU law allows for the deportation of individuals convicted of serious crimes or seen as a security threat in certain circumstances, but returns to Afghanistan have been limited due to the lack of diplomatic relations.
