Overview
- The Brussels meeting, which took place on Tuesday, June 23, brought five Taliban delegates to the European Commission and technical teams from about 15 member states to discuss identification, travel documents and operational steps for returns.
- Belgium issued restricted one-day, Belgium-only visas to the Taliban delegates so they could enter for the talks and the visit was presented as a short, tightly controlled technical trip.
- The Commission said the talks were a follow-up to a January meeting in Kabul and stressed that technical contacts do not equal formal recognition of the Taliban government.
- The visit prompted strong criticism from MEPs, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and public figures who say cooperation risks legitimising a regime accused of severe abuses and endangering deported Afghans, especially women and girls.
- Any increase in deportations remains the responsibility of individual member states and faces legal and practical limits, including non-refoulement obligations, ongoing human-rights concerns, and complications such as ICC arrest warrants and prior bilateral deals on returns.