Belgium begins security checks on Taliban delegation ahead of EU migration talks
The European Commission has forwarded to Belgium the names of the Taliban delegation expected to travel to Brussels to negotiate the return of Afghan migrants to Afghanistan. Foreign Affairs minister Maxime Prévot confirmed this on Thursday. The security services are now conducting "the necessary preliminary analyses" for the possible issuance of visas, according to his office.
It has been known for some time that the European Commission wants to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban on the return of Afghan migrants. A Belgian visa is required to host the delegation in Brussels. That is a sensitive matter, as the Taliban is not recognised internationally as a legitimate government.
The Taliban delegation has not yet submitted a formal visa application, the minister's spokesperson confirmed to Belga. However, the European Commission has provided a list of names, allowing Belgian security services to begin their preliminary assessment.
Prévot stated earlier this year that Belgium would not, as a matter of principle, issue visas to Taliban representatives. An exception applies, however, under the country's "headquarters policy": as host to several major international institutions, Belgium can grant visas in that specific context.
A "complicated" situation
European commissioner for home affairs Magnus Brunner also acknowledged on Thursday that the visa process for Taliban officials was "a little complicated", given Belgium's responsibilities as the host country of European institutions. He raised the possibility of holding the planned meeting elsewhere if that would make it easier to organise.
In January, delegations from various EU member states, including Belgium, visited the Afghan capital Kabul. Asylum and Migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt subsequently called on the Commission to find "diplomatic and practical" solutions to return migrants to the country. NGOs have been critical of the decision to engage with the Taliban regime due to its human rights record.
The EU has "no other option" than to engage with the Taliban authorities on migration issues in order to improve the current situation, Brunner said. "We are not going to recognise the Taliban regime, certainly not, but I think it is nevertheless important to talk to them."
PHOTO © STR / AFP
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