The Kabul Tribune (KT) \u2014 Agence France-Presse reported Monday that the European
\nCommission plans to invite Taliban officials to Brussels in the near future for
\ndiscussions on returning migrants to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Sources familiar with the matter said a formal letter would
\nbe sent imminently to Kabul to arrange a date for the meeting in the Belgian
\ncapital. The planned visit, coordinated with Sweden, would follow two earlier
\ntrips by European officials to Afghanistan on the same issue.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Commission said officials are working
\non a potential technical-level follow-up meeting in Brussels with Afghanistan\u2019s
\nde facto Taliban authorities. No specific date has been announced.<\/p>\n
Letter From 20 Countries<\/p>\n
The move comes as part of broader efforts by around 20
\nEuropean Union member states to tighten migration policies and explore
\nmechanisms for returning migrants\u2014particularly those with criminal
\nconvictions\u2014to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
According to the Commission, a technical meeting was held in
\nKabul in January 2026 to advance the discussions, following an October letter
\nfrom several countries urging the EU to find diplomatic and practical
\nsolutions.<\/p>\n
Legal And Ethical Concerns<\/p>\n
The proposed visit raises practical and ethical concerns,
\nparticularly because it involves engagement with Taliban authorities, who are
\nnot formally recognized by the EU.<\/p>\n
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have remained
\nlargely isolated internationally after enforcing a strict interpretation of
\nIslamic law. For the visit to proceed, officials would require special entry
\nexemptions from Belgium, where EU institutions are based.<\/p>\n
Humanitarian Context<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s push for migrant returns comes amid a worsening
\nhumanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Since 2023, more than five million Afghans
\nhave returned from Iran and Pakistan, many of them forcibly, according to
\ninternational organizations.<\/p>\n
Most returnees are living in severe hardship, often without
\nstable housing or employment.<\/p>\n
Germany Leads Efforts<\/p>\n
EU data show that about one million asylum applications from
\nAfghans were filed between 2013 and 2024, with roughly half approved. In 2025,
\nAfghans continued to represent the largest group of asylum applicants in the
\nbloc.<\/p>\n
Amid shifting public sentiment on migration, some countries
\nhave moved to scale back asylum policies. Germany has deported more than 100
\nAfghans with criminal convictions since 2024 through charter flights
\nfacilitated by Qatar.<\/p>\n
The policy shift follows several violent incidents involving
\nAfghan nationals, including a deadly car-ramming attack in Munich last year.<\/p>\n
Mixed Reactions<\/p>\n
Austria has also engaged with Taliban representatives,
\nhosting a delegation in Vienna in September. Other countries, including Belgium
\nand Sweden, are considering similar steps.<\/p>\n
However, the approach has drawn criticism from humanitarian
\norganizations. Lisa Owen, Afghanistan director for the International Rescue
\nCommittee, warned that returning Afghans under current conditions could
\nendanger lives.<\/p>\n
Rights groups have also expressed concern that such meetings
\ncould allow Taliban officials to identify individuals for return, potentially
\nputting them at risk.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic sources, however, said the primary aim of the
\nproposed Brussels meeting is to address technical challenges, such as issuing
\npassports to Afghans whose embassies in Europe are not recognized by Taliban
\nauthorities, as well as logistical issues including airport capacity in Kabul.<\/p>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kabul Tribune (KT) \u2014 Agence France-Presse reported Monday that the European Commission plans to invite Taliban officials…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10174,10173,18,10172,10171],"class_list":{"0":"post-15173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-afghan-news","9":"tag-afghanistan-news","10":"tag-brussels","11":"tag-kabul-tribune","12":"tag-kt"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116559383520010063","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}