25/06/2026 23:17 - Internacionales
The European Union finds itself at the center of a diplomatic firestorm after confirming that a Taliban delegation traveled to Brussels for meetings with European officials. The encounter, scheduled for June 23, 2026, marks the first time the EU has officially received the fundamentalist group since their return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi confirmed that the delegation received five single-day visas issued by Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agenda includes discussions on potentially resuming consular services for Afghans in the EU and confidence-building measures.
📍 Context: Brussels serves as the de facto capital of the European Union, hosting the European Commission and European Council. This makes it the symbolic heart of European diplomacy—making the Taliban's presence there particularly significant.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai—who survived an assassination attempt by Taliban militants in Pakistan at age 15—expressed being "shocked and deeply disturbed" by the European invitation.
"The Taliban have erased women and girls from public life," Malala declared, emphasizing that the regime has banned girls' education beyond sixth grade.
Spanish Socialist MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar called the meeting "an absolute outrage and a total loss of faith in the EU's credibility."
Since returning to power in 2021:
The European Commission confirmed in May 2026 that it has maintained discussions with the Taliban since January 2026 regarding how to escalate deportations of Afghan migrants. The meeting was coordinated with Sweden after 20 member states requested concrete pathways to deport Afghans without legal residency permits or those considered security risks.
However, 83 Afghan and international human rights organizations signed an open letter expressing "grave concern" over the EU's intentions.
of Afghanistan's population suffers from hunger according to the International Rescue Committee
Afghans deported from Germany since August 2024
Afghan citizens on charter flight from Germany in August 2024
A UN report from the previous year documented that many returned Afghans experienced arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and mistreatment by authorities. Shagofah Ghafori, from the Brussels-based European Policy Studies Centre, warned:
"If the EU proceeds with deportations, it does so with full knowledge that many returnees will end up in torture cells or mass graves."
While the EU has declared that the meeting does not constitute recognition of the Taliban, experts like Shagofah Ghafori warn that something more insidious is occurring:
"What Brussels offers instead is something more insidious: normalization. And normalization doesn't require a signed treaty. It happens gradually, through granting visas, meeting rooms, and the quiet replacement of principle with transaction."
German Green MEP Hannah Neumann further warned that deporting young Afghans to poverty and despair could strengthen the very structures that keep the Taliban in power.
The Guardian - "EU faces fierce criticism over plans to host Taliban in Brussels" (June 23, 2026)
Alfredo S. Quiroga
