Critical briefing: EU-Taliban talks

The European Union hosted talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership in Brussels on 23 June, on the topic of returning Afghan asylum seekers. The move sparked widespread condemnation by some EU parliamentarians and civil society for condoning the terrorist organisation and its human rights abuses.

What happened

EU officials and the right-wing government of Sweden had made their invitation to the Taliban official in May, as a follow-up to a meeting held in January with EU officials making the journey to Afghanistan. 

Both meetings were held in response to a letter signed by 19 EU member states and Norway, pushing for stronger migration policies and increased deportation rates. Representatives from the European Commission and 15 member states attended the “technical talk”, a wording European authorities had used to describe an unofficial meeting with an unrecognised authority.

Alongside all other EU member states, Belgium does not formally recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The meeting thus took place outside of official state buildings, in an undisclosed location.

Although it is unclear if any European officials would have paid the costs of travel for visiting Taliban members, Belgian authorities issued five visas to the Taliban on 22 June which were valid for Belgium only, and for just one day. It is unknown if any women were present at the meeting.

On the bargaining table were the possibility of returning Afghan refugees with a criminal history, and most likely, the deportation of rejected asylum seekers with no previous criminal charges. In exchange, Afghanistan would be granted greater diplomatic access to Europe, healing a years-long suspension of most consular relations since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. 

Beyond returns, the talks are expected to have dealt with the logistics of how to identify returnees, and the issuance of travel documents for the many that arrived without papers.

The asylum mechanisms the EU has in place had prevented nations from expelling migrants to a country where they face a credible risk of torture, execution, or dangerous treatment. Like refugees from Sudan or Libya, Afghans whose asylum applications are rejected are so far only returned to their first country of arrival in the EU, under the Dublin Regulation. 

That has meant that a backlog of Afghan migrants remain stuck in limbo in Bulgaria and Greece without documents, far from where they learned the language or built a life, and with no information on what their future holds.

Only around 2 per cent of Afghan ordered to leave the EU are actually returned, mostly from Austria and Germany. According to the European Union agency for asylum, Afghans lodged the most applications for asylum in the EU in April 2026, followed by Venezuelans and Bangladeshis. Around 6,300 applications were lodged, following a decreasing trend in arrivals visible for all nationalities, Europe-wide.

Afghans are also one of the biggest groups arriving in small boats to the UK, representing 12 cent of all small boat arriving nationalities in March 2026. Yet emigration to Europe represents only a fraction of the Afghan diaspora who fled following the Taliban’s ascent to power in 2021. More than 90 cent of displaced Afghans moved to neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, and are suddenly seen returning homeward due to economic hardship and local hostility. 

Why it matters

The meeting between EU authorities and Taliban officials was widely condemned for purportedly legitimising a leadership that oppresses women and girls, as well as perpetuating one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. 

The International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants against Taliban leaders in July 2025, and in a 2024 landmark judgement, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decreed systematic discrimination and persecution against women in Afghanistan. As a result, unlike in the UK, Afghan women automatically qualify for refugee status in the EU, and will not be affected by increased deportations.

Afghan women and girls living are barred from going to school beyond the age of 11, are excluded from public spaces and from holding a job, and thanks to a new marriage law, are exposed to normalised domestic violence and child abuse. 

Much like the UK, the EU had previously been vocal about condemning this treatment, and inviting the de-facto government in Kabul was seen as a move towards condoning their oppressive norms. On the other hand, heads of state such as Spain’s Pedro Sánchez and multiple members of the European Parliament expressed fervent opposition to the meeting, arguing that such an event would signal the ultimate abandonment of Afghan women.

A hardening on immigration in Europe, led by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, is already resulting in increased migration flows to Britain, with Channel crossings recently beginning to operate from the Belgian coast. It is likely that the EU’s decision will result in further flows of Afghan migrants to Britain — particularly whilst Britain continues to refuse to recognise the Taliban. 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), a separate court to that of the EU’s CJEU, whose decisions apply to the European continent rather than to the union, frequently blocks individual deportations. Most recently, a unanimous ruling in March 2026 for D.M. v. Sweden protected a member of the Hazara ethnic minority from being deported due to the severe threat of ill-treatment upon return. 

What happens next

Since the controversial meeting took place behind closed doors, not many of its consequences are yet known to the public. However, what can be expected is a reprise of diplomatic relations, with many of the now out-of-use Afghan consulates coming back to operation in Europe.

An outstanding issue is still the lack of consular cooperation for formal readmission agreements to verify identities and to organise travel documents, since the EU still considers the Taliban an illegitimate regime. The process of formalising these channels remains fraught with political and ethical challenges. 

While the logistics of returns to Kabul may still be needing finalising, Austrian authorities were reported to have commenced negotiations with neighbouring country Uzbekistan to act as a corridor for indirect returns of Afghan deportees. As the EU plans to build its own asylum processing facilities in third-countries, much like what had been the plan for the UK in Rwanda, Uzbekistan is one of the hottest destination countries now being considered.