The EU’s efforts to return irregular migrants to Afghanistan face a fundamental dilemma: how to solve the long-standing and intractable issue of the repatriation of Afghans while avoiding legitimising the Taliban, a regime the bloc has refused to formally recognise since it seized power in 2021.
UN and migration experts have warned that it will become increasingly difficult for the EU to maintain its boycott of a government that's long sought diplomatic legitimacy in Europe while also managing the politically sensitive issue of Afghan returns.
