\n Brussels is bracing for a political storm as European Union officials consider hosting Taliban representatives in the Belgian capital for talks on returning Afghan nationals living in Europe, a move that critics say risks legitimising Afghanistan’s hardline regime. <\/p>\n
Issued on: 01\/05\/2026 – 16:04<\/p>\n
3 min Reading time\n<\/p>\n
The Belga news agency on 23 April reported a\u00a0potential visit to Brussels by Taliban<\/a> officials.<\/p>\n It\u00a0quoted<\/a> \u201cEuropean officials\u201d as saying \u201ca mission in Brussels is expected before the summer, after a first technical visit to Kabul in January involving European representatives and Belgium\u2019s Immigration Office”.<\/p>\n In January, an EU delegation led by Freddy Roosemont,\u00a0head of Belgium\u2019s Immigration Office, travelled to Kabul for three days of talks with officials from Afghanistan\u2019s Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry and intelligence services.<\/p>\n According to The Brussels Times<\/a>: “Afghan authorities reportedly expressed willingness to assist with identifying their citizens living in Europe without legal stay permits.\u201d<\/p>\n EU confirms ‘contact’ with Taliban in Afghanistan over migrant returns<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Rise in violent incidents’ <\/p>\n The outreach stems from a push by several EU member states to step up deportations of Afghan nationals.<\/p>\n On 16 October, 2025, ministers from 20 EU countries wrote a joint letter to EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner and the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, citing a rise in violent incidents involving Afghan nationals in some countries.<\/p>\n They called for priority to be given to returning individuals deemed a threat to public order or national security.<\/p>\n The letter said that in 2024, 22,870 Afghan nationals were issued return decisions in the EU, but only 435 were returned \u2013 a rate of just 2 percent.<\/p>\n It proposed a more centralised approach to returns, potentially involving the EU\u2019s border agency Frontex<\/a>, and suggested a joint mission to Afghanistan to explore returns, in coordination with the European Commission and the EU\u2019s diplomatic service.<\/p>\n Critics alarmed <\/p>\n The initiative was spearheaded by Belgian Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt.<\/p>\n She has said that \u201cAfghans who were not granted protection or residence must return whenever possible” \u2013 while stressing that any returns must comply with Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights<\/a>, which prohibits torture and inhuman treatment.<\/p>\n She described the planned Brussels meeting as \u201can important and necessary step\u201d towards a coordinated European approach \u201cwithout recognising this regime”.<\/p>\n Taliban govt says Afghans in Qatar can return ‘with full confidence’<\/a><\/p>\n However, the prospect of direct engagement with the Taliban has alarmed critics in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n Saskia Bricmont, a Belgian MEP from the Greens\/EFA group, told RFI<\/a>\u00a0that negotiating what she described as a \u201creadmission agreement\u201d would amount to \u201ca profound violation of asylum law, international law, [and] respect for fundamental rights”.<\/p>\n Her colleague Tineke Strik\u00a0warned that any form of cooperation risks \u201cnormalising\u201d the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 and remain internationally isolated.<\/p>\n The EU does not formally recognise the group, referring to it as “Afghanistan\u2019s de facto authorities”.<\/p>\n Fifty years of conflict <\/p>\n Human rights organisations have also raised concerns.<\/p>\n Amnesty International<\/a> has condemned returns to Afghanistan, citing \u201cwidespread and systematic\u201d violations against women, girls and dissenting voices. It noted that 2.6 million people were expelled from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone, 60 percent of them women and children.<\/p>\n Some EU countries have already carried out deportations independently. Germany, for example, has returned more than 100 people to Afghanistan since 2024, outside any coordinated EU framework.<\/p>\n \u2018All they dream of is leaving\u2019: the reality of life for women under the Taliban<\/a><\/p>\n The Taliban have not publicly commented on the reported Brussels talks, although spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has previously downplayed concerns, claiming conditions in the country have improved for returnees.<\/p>\n Afghans remain one of the largest groups seeking asylum in the EU. According to the\u00a0UN\u2019s refugee agency, the UNHCR<\/a>, 23.7 million people in Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 more than half the population \u2013 require humanitarian assistance after almost five decades of conflict, while 5.8 million Afghans are displaced globally.<\/p>\n No date has been set for the Brussels meeting.<\/p>\n