The Committee to Protect Journalists has urged the European Commission to abandon reported plans to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels for talks related to the deportation of migrants from Europe.
The organization warned that the move could legitimize a government that has overseen sweeping repression of independent media since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
“It is outrageous that, as the Taliban attacks the media, the European Commission extends an invitation to Brussels,” Tom Gibson, the committee’s deputy advocacy director for the European Union, said in a statement.
“By doing so, it legitimizes a regime responsible for severe repression and censorship and strengthens their public relations as an international player. The European Commission must scrap such plans,” he added.
According to media reports and statements by European officials, the proposed talks would focus on technical discussions concerning the return of rejected Afghan asylum seekers and Afghan nationals convicted of crimes in European countries.
The European Union does not formally recognize the Taliban rule, and European officials have repeatedly said that official engagement remains tied in part to compliance with international human rights standards.
Still, the European Commission recently confirmed that Taliban representatives had been invited to a meeting in Brussels as part of ongoing technical contacts concerning migration and deportation issues.
Markus Lammert, a spokesman for the European Commission, said the invitation had been sent jointly by the commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs and Sweden’s Justice Ministry.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Lammert described the proposed gathering as a “technical-level meeting” and said it would follow earlier discussions held in Afghanistan in January involving European Union officials and Taliban representatives.
According to the commission, the initiative followed requests from 20 EU member states and countries associated with the Schengen zone seeking coordinated engagement with Taliban authorities on migrant returns.
Since retaking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed extensive restrictions on Afghanistan’s media sector, including censorship rules, newsroom closures and limitations on political reporting.
The CPJ said the Taliban had forced the shutdown of independent media outlets, imprisoned journalists and expanded surveillance and censorship, creating an atmosphere of fear among reporters. The organization also warned that much of Afghanistan’s national media coverage had increasingly become “propaganda for the Taliban.”
International rights organizations and media groups have repeatedly warned that Afghanistan’s press freedom environment has sharply deteriorated under Taliban rule, particularly for women journalists and independent outlets struggling under political and economic pressure.
