A group of cross-party Members of the European Parliament, members of the German Bundestag, and former members of Afghanistan’s parliament have today issued an open letter, calling on the European Union and its member states not to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels or other European capitals for negotiations on migration or deportation. The signatories warn that any official invitation, issuance of a visa, or political meeting would reinforce the very legitimacy and international recognition that the Taliban have sought since seizing control of Afghanistan.
Hannah Neumann, a Member of the European Parliament; Filiz Polat, a member of the German Bundestag; Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, a Member of the European Parliament and chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Afghanistan; Alessandra Moretti, a Member of the European Parliament from the Socialists and Democrats group and vice-chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Afghanistan; and Fawzia Koofi, a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament, are among the signatories of the letter.
The statement reads: “Every invitation, every visa, and every official meeting sends a political message. The Taliban are not seeking purely technical discussions, but rather the acquisition of legitimacy. In 2021, the European Union set clear benchmarks for engagement. After nearly five years, not one of these benchmarks has been met. On the contrary, the Taliban have systematically violated the rights of women and girls and intensified political repression. Europe must not trade its principles in exchange for agreements on the deportation of migrants.”
The letter, addressed to the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the governments of EU member states, states: “We are deeply concerned by reports indicating that Taliban representatives have been invited to Brussels to discuss arrangements related to the migration and deportation of asylum seekers. In 2021, the European Union set clear conditions for engagement with the Taliban: respect for human rights, unimpeded access to humanitarian aid, a commitment to counterterrorism, and meaningful steps toward forming an inclusive government.” According to the letter, all 27 member states and the institutions of the European Union endorsed these benchmarks.
The letter emphasizes that not only have these conditions gone unmet, but the human rights situation has deteriorated considerably, particularly for women and girls, who face systematic erasure and harassment, while political repression has likewise intensified.
The letter also states that the European Parliament reaffirmed this position in its resolution dated 21 May 2026 and warned against any normalization of, or implicit legitimacy granted to, the Taliban while systematic human rights violations continue. According to the letter, under such circumstances, inviting Taliban representatives to Europe is a serious mistake, and such meetings cannot be regarded as merely technical sessions.
The authors of the letter said: “Every invitation, every visa, and every official meeting hands the Taliban exactly what they have sought since coming to power: political legitimacy and international recognition. The Taliban will present a trip to Brussels as a sign of the normalization of relations with Europe, even though no progress has been made on the conditions that the European Union itself established.”
The letter states: “Granting political access to representatives of the Taliban’s terrorist Islamist regime, without any meaningful progress in these areas, carries the risk of undermining the credibility of these commitments both within Afghanistan and on the global stage.”
The letter stresses that the rationale offered for this approach, namely facilitating the deportation of migrants, makes the matter all the more troubling. It goes on to state that this measure sets a dangerous precedent, meaning that a regime accused of grave human rights violations could exploit cooperation on migration to gain political concessions and broaden its acceptance on the international stage.
The authors of the letter referred to the forced deportation of migrants from Germany to Afghanistan, saying that this experience should serve as a warning about the consequences of such an approach. According to the letter, efforts to establish mechanisms for deporting migrants have so far led to increased engagement with Taliban structures and the granting of concessions that were previously considered unacceptable.
The letter states: “Reports of consular responsibilities and access to personal data being handed over to individuals linked to the Taliban have raised serious concerns for refugees and exiles from Afghanistan, including fears of intimidation, surveillance, and pressure being exerted on those who have fled Taliban rule.”
The authors of the letter added that this situation demonstrates the extent to which the German government is vulnerable to pressure, because, according to them, the Taliban canceled a migrant deportation flight to demand the dispatch of a greater number of their own diplomats, individuals who are in fact representatives of an illegitimate and repressive regime.
The letter specifies that many of those who supported democracy, human rights, and European missions in Afghanistan remain deprived of access to protection and face serious dangers. It goes on to emphasize that granting a platform and access to Taliban representatives sends precisely the wrong message about Europe’s priorities.
According to the authors of the letter, this measure suggests that engaging with the perpetrators of repression has come to matter more than supporting those who have stood alongside Europe. It also emphasizes that the consequences of this approach will be felt far beyond Afghanistan. According to the letter, governments and movements seeking to gain legitimacy and international recognition are following this trend closely.
The letter states: “If Europe demonstrates that migration-related pressure can be used to achieve political access and legitimacy, others will reach the same conclusion. Reviving the foreign policy principles that have been set aside for short-term deportation agreements will be no easy task.”
The authors emphasized: “We also stress that the systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life by the Taliban is a form of institutionalized gender-based persecution and discrimination that many legal experts, UN special rapporteurs, and human rights organizations increasingly describe as ‘gender apartheid.'”
The letter also stresses the need to engage with Afghanistan’s civil society, to prioritize defenders of women’s human rights and the victims of Taliban harassment and repression. The letter states that it must be ensured that migration policies do not undermine Europe’s human rights commitments, and that pathways for support and protection are provided for vulnerable individuals, including through humanitarian visas within the framework of the asylum system.
The authors of the letter said that there must be cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Afghanistan, particularly regarding gender-based persecution, and that international justice must be actively supported. According to the letter, engagement without conditions and benchmarks rewards repression and grants it legitimacy, undermines Europe’s credibility, and creates the risk that migration could become a tool for gaining international recognition.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
اعضای پارلمان اروپا: طالبان مشروعیت سیاسی میخواهند، نه مذاکره فنی
