The European Commission will invite Taliban representatives to Brussels to negotiate the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland. The Commission itself confirmed this to the French news agency AFP. There is no date yet for the discussions.
Source: Belga
The aim of the visit, which is co-coordinated by Sweden, is to continue the discussions started by European representatives in Afghanistan in Brussels. It would involve “technical discussions” about returning Afghan refugees.
Representatives of the EU and our country already visited Kabul in January. Freddy Roosemont, director general of the Immigration Office, was present at the time. According to Federal Minister of Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), the follow-up mission in Brussels is “an important and necessary” next step, as was stated in April.
The fact that the EU is willing to speak to representatives of the group is at least striking. The Taliban is an armed group that seized power in Kabul in 2021. The Taliban’s actions have led to the “systematic and appalling exclusion of women and girls” in the country and to a “dramatic deterioration of the political, economic and humanitarian situation for the Afghan people,” the EU website said.
The fact that the EU is seeking rapprochement with the group has previously caused quite a stir. European Commissioner Magnus Brunner, who is responsible for migration, has yet to answer before the European Parliament for the planned visit.
