EU states hold talks with Taliban in Brussels on Afghan returns

Representatives from 15 European Union member states met with the Taliban in Brussels on June 23 to discuss the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan.

A European Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday that the meeting was co-chaired with Sweden. Belgium and the Netherlands also took part.

The Commission stressed that the discussions primarily focused on the return of Afghan citizens with criminal records or those considered security threats.

Talks covered a wide range of issues, including the identification of returnees, the issuance of travel documents and procedures related to their repatriation.

However, Johannes Luchner, a senior European Commission official who travelled to Kabul in January, had previously indicated that the scope could extend beyond convicted individuals.

Addressing European lawmakers at the end of January, he said: “Our primary concern is the return of criminals, but the number of non-criminal Afghans who have received return orders is also increasing.”

Another EU source has now expressed a similar view. Speaking to EUobserver on Tuesday ahead of the meeting, the source said the discussions would also cover the return of asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected.

Earlier in the day, the Commission declined to provide details about the meeting.

As a result, questions remained unanswered regarding who covered the Taliban delegation’s travel expenses, where the meeting would take place, whether women would participate and what the Taliban expected in return for assisting the EU with deportations of Afghan nationals.

The EU and its member states have not recognised the Taliban government since it returned to power five years ago.

Brussels defended its decision to maintain limited contacts with Afghanistan’s “de facto authorities,” arguing that such engagement is necessary to facilitate the deportation of rejected asylum seekers who have committed crimes or are considered dangerous.

A European Commission spokesperson said officials from the Commission and 15 EU member states attended the Brussels meeting, which followed a previous gathering held in Kabul in January.

“The Commission services and Sweden today co-chaired a technical-level meeting in Brussels together with technical-level representatives of Afghanistan’s de facto authorities responsible for return and readmission matters,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said the agenda was broader and included the possibility of a future consular presence in the EU, the resumption of consular services for Afghans living there and “the need for confidence-building measures.”

Spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi added that the meeting raised hopes of creating “positive momentum to safeguard the consular rights of Afghans residing abroad.”

According to a European Commission letter addressed to Balkhi and reviewed by Reuters, the discussions would focus on “the return and readmission of Afghan nationals without a right to reside in the EU.”