Taliban government officials held what an Afghan official described as "constructive" talks with European Union representatives in Brussels on Tuesday, marking a rare high-level engagement between the two sides as they discussed issues including humanitarian assistance, migration and regional stability.
"The meetings were constructive and there is hope that they will lead to positive developments," said the official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, held as EU nations push to return failed asylum-seekers to Afghanistan.
The European Commission confirmed it hosted Taliban representatives for the first time since the group's return to power in Afghanistan five years ago, with Tuesday's talks in Brussels focusing on the deportation of Afghan nationals.
In May, the EU's executive arm had invited representatives from Afghanistan to Brussels following a request by 20 EU and Schengen countries for consultations aimed at deporting more Afghan nationals who have no right to stay in the EU.
"The focus of these member states is to return persons who have committed serious crimes or who pose security threat," a commission spokesman said ahead of the talks.
The visit follows a first meeting between the Taliban and EU officials in January in Afghanistan.
Deportations to Afghanistan are highly controversial, not least since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The group remains internationally isolated due to its human rights record, particularly its restrictions on women and girls.
