The arrival of the Taliban delegation in Brussels on Tuesday to meet EU officials has sparked condemnation, including from Belgian MEPs.
After several weeks of uncertainty about their arrival date, Le Soir learnt from "a reliable source" that Taliban officials will be in Brussels this Tuesday.
On Monday evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had issued five visas for the Taliban delegation, which is in Brussels at the request of the European Commission to negotiate the return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan.
However, the visas are valid only for Belgium (not including Schengen area) and for one day only, according to Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) on Monday, reported Belga.
The ministry stressed that the five visas were issued after a security assessment by intelligence and security services, which had shown that there was "no information based on which it could be concluded that the individuals concerned pose a threat on Belgian territory".
For security reasons, the Minister for Foreign Affairs did not wish to disclose the date of the visit.
As recently as last week, Minister Prévot, speaking in a personal capacity in the Chamber, rejected the proposal to invite representatives of the Taliban regime – notorious for its human rights abuses – to Brussels.
However, Prévot also highlighted Belgium’s "headquarters policy", under which the country hosts the headquarters of various major international institutions. An exception to the visa rules applies in this regard.
"If Belgium were to express an opinion on the advisability of the invitations extended by the European institutions, we would run the risk of weakening Brussels’ position as an international and diplomatic capital," he said.
For further information regarding the meeting, Minister Prévot therefore referred on Monday evening to the European Commission, which is organising the meeting.
Illustrative image of Taliban. Credit: Belga
It has not been disclosed who is representing the Taliban. According to Le Vif, which was able to view an invitation, one of the five is said to be the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi. This is the nom de guerre of Hasan Bahiss, who has been the Taliban’s spokesperson since 2011.
Francophone green MEP Saskia Bricmont (Ecolo) condemned in the strongest terms this meeting, which she considered a major political and moral fault.
"Welcoming to Brussels representatives of a regime that systematically oppresses women, suppresses all opposition, denies fundamental freedoms, and imposes a veritable gender apartheid is unacceptable," said Saskia Bricmont. "The Taliban are not like other negotiating partners. Their presence at the negotiating table sends an extremely worrying signal."
For the green MEP, this meeting illustrates a worrying development in European migration policy, already marked by the adoption of regulations on returns.
By seeking to conclude expulsion agreements with authoritarian regimes, the European Union risks not only compromising its international credibility but also making itself dependent on governments that reject the democratic principles that it claims to defend, according to Bricmont.
"What credibility can the European Union still claim on the international scene, if it tramples on the values supposed to guide its action? By opening its doors to the Taliban to negotiate expulsions in opacity and without democratic control, it weakens its voice and offers authoritarian regimes powerful leverage on Europe. It is not Europe that I am defending," concludes the MEP.
As soon as the Taliban's visit to Brussels was announced, 47 MEPs sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, to request the refusal of these visas. To date, no response has been provided.
