KABUL – Twenty European countries, including nineteen EU member states and Norway, have urged the European Commission to negotiate an agreement with the Taliban authorities to enable the deportation of undocumented and criminal Afghan migrants.
According to Breitbart News, Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, announced that Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden have jointly signed a letter pressing Brussels to take urgent action.
The signatories warned that the EU’s failure to reach a returns deal with the Taliban has prevented member states from deporting illegal migrants, including those convicted of crimes, creating what they described as a growing national security threat and eroding public trust in asylum policies.
“We have sent a clear and strong message to the European Commission: we cannot afford to stand still any longer,” Van Bossuyt said. “Without comprehensive returns, every asylum and migration policy fails. The EU must send a clear message — those not entitled to protection or residency in Europe must return.”
According to Belgian authorities, over half of all Afghan asylum applications in the country are rejected, yet more than 2,800 Afghans awaiting deportation remain in reception centers. Van Bossuyt noted that Afghan nationals have been involved in a rising number of serious incidents in these facilities.
Across the European Union, 22,870 Afghan nationals were issued deportation orders last year, but only 435 were actually returned, representing a success rate of just two percent.
In their letter to European Commissioner for Asylum and Migration Magnus Brunner, the countries emphasized that returning migrants to Afghanistan requires a “coherent and collective European response” and called for treating repatriation and reintegration as a shared EU responsibility.
While the European Commission has yet to engage formally with the Taliban, some member states have already begun direct talks with the group. Germany has confirmed that discussions with Taliban officials are in “advanced stages,” with Berlin seeking a formal returns agreement.
Germany has so far conducted two deportation flights to Afghanistan with Qatar’s assistance, as Berlin maintains no formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime.
The move comes amid intensifying political pressure within Europe to tighten migration controls following a surge in asylum applications and growing public concern over security and integration challenges.