EU hosts Taliban delegation in Brussels for first talks on deportations since 2021 takeover

A carefully staged meeting

Five Taliban representatives arrived in Brussels on Tuesday morning, landing from Istanbul, and were granted a 24-hour visa restricted to Belgium. The EU insisted the talks were held at a "neutral" location, not the Berlaymont headquarters, and stressed that "dialogue does not mean recognition." A Commission spokesperson confirmed that "services of the Commission and Sweden co-chaired a technical-level meeting with representatives of the de facto authorities of Afghanistan." The word "Taliban" did not appear in the official statement.

This is a historic visit.

The delegation was led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban foreign ministry's head of Europe, who described the agenda as covering the "dignified return of Afghans to their homeland" and the resumption of comprehensive consular services for Afghans in the EU. He added that without Taliban-appointed diplomats in Afghan embassies, no consular work, and therefore no deportations, would be possible.

Deportation push and German deals

The Brussels meeting follows months of pressure from 20 EU member states, including Germany, for coordinated action to accelerate returns. In 2024, nearly 23,000 Afghans across the EU received legally binding return orders, but only 435, less than 2 percent, actually left. A first technical meeting had already taken place in Kabul in January.

Germany has moved fastest. After suspending deportations when the Taliban seized power in August 2021, Berlin resumed them in August 2024 with 28 convicted criminals flown via Qatar. The pace quickened after a 2025 government change: 81 deportations in July 2025, then direct flights under a bilateral deal with the Taliban, 20 in February 2026 and 25 in April. A flight planned for late May was delayed after the Taliban complained about German reluctance to talk, but it eventually departed on Monday, the day before the Brussels meeting. The German interior ministry now says up to three charter flights per month are possible, and the foreign ministry confirmed that up to four additional Taliban consular officials will be allowed into Germany to handle identity verification and passport issuance.

Human rights backlash

The talks drew sharp criticism from human rights organisations and politicians. Fereshta Abbasi of Human Rights Watch said the EU was undermining its human rights obligations. Green MEP Hannah Neumann warned the EU should not "trade its principles for deportation deals." Left-party politician Özlem Demirel called the visit "a disgrace." Amnesty International described it as unscrupulous, citing the risk of arbitrary detention and torture for returnees. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had already expressed concern in May about EU states' plans to increase deportations to Afghanistan.

In any encounter with the Taliban, the protection of human rights and accountability must take priority, not the deportation of people into danger.

The man from New Zealand

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, who led the Taliban delegation, spent his youth in New Zealand after his family arrived there in the 1990s, likely through an asylum programme. He speaks fluent English with a New Zealand accent and, by his own account, returned to Afghanistan around 2007 at age 18 or 19 to join the Taliban, motivated less by jihad than by Pashtun ethno-nationalism and a sense of adventure. The Taliban quickly recognised the value of his language skills and modern education for international propaganda. After the 2021 takeover, he rose rapidly as a protégé of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and became a key contact for Western diplomats, including in negotiations over prisoner releases and the deportation of criminals from Germany.