Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, criticized the European Commission over plans to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels for talks on deportations, saying ordinary Afghans should not bear the consequences of Taliban policies.
“Afghans should not pay the price for Taliban actions,” García said during a session at the European Parliament.
She urged European governments to prevent what she described as a return to the “dark era” of Taliban rule and said European lawmakers must continue defending the rights of Afghan women.
García said she and her political allies stood with the people of Afghanistan and would continue to support the protection of women’s rights.
She sharply criticized Taliban policies toward women and girls, saying the group had barred girls from education and confined women to their homes.
“Today, when the cameras are off, they invite the Taliban to Brussels,” García said. “The same Taliban who deny girls education. The same Taliban who imprison women in their homes.”
García also warned that Europe could not claim to defend democratic values while negotiating with what she described as “executioners.”
“If we legitimize those who implement gender apartheid, then we are not defending our values — we are betraying them,” she said.
Her remarks come amid mounting criticism from human rights organizations following confirmation that the European Commission is preparing to host Taliban representatives for technical discussions related to the deportation of Afghan migrants from European countries.
Critics have warned that such engagement could amount to indirect political legitimization of Taliban rule, even if the European Union continues to withhold formal diplomatic recognition.
According to Euronews, social democratic and left-wing groups in the European Parliament have criticized the initiative, with some lawmakers seeking to bring the issue to a broader parliamentary debate.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a Socialist member of the European Parliament and a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, has described the plan with “surprise” and “anger.”
Earlier, Markus Lammert, a spokesman for the European Commission, confirmed that Taliban representatives had been invited to a meeting in Brussels and said a formal invitation had already been sent.
Lammert said the invitation was issued jointly by the commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs and Sweden’s Justice Ministry.
