Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, the European Union (EU), one of the Western powerhouses, moved in together with the United States (US) to start their activities in Afghanistan. During this process, the EU has made significant contributions to the implementation of US national creation and democratic order building policies. In the last 20 years the EU has stated that it has spent €4 billion on social and economic issues in Afghanistan.
In 2018, the US, like the Government of Afghanistan, disabled the EU in the Doha Talks with the Taliban. This attitude of the Washington administration has been repeatedly criticized by EU officials and has established close ties with the successive regime in Afghanistan, unlike the US. In 2019, the EU defrayed the costs of the Presidential Elections in Afghanistan against the policies of the White House. When the US decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, the EU claimed, “We came together, we’ll go together.” logic.
After the Taliban became a hegemon again in Afghanistan, European states evacuated their diplomats from Afghanistan. After the Taliban established control in every region of the country, in particular the capital, Kabul, the EU High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell also said that what was happening in Afghanistan was a catastrophe, that no one expected the Taliban to rule in Afghanistan at this pace and that the EU had failed as part of the West to establish a democratic order in Afghanistan. However, this explanation could not hide the EU’s failure.
President of the EU Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen also paid a visit to Madrid, Spain, where Afghani asylum seekers were considered temporary and said: “The EU will keep up its links with the Taliban at technical level, but it won’t have any political talks with them and won’t recognize that leadership.”[1] However, in the fourth month of the Taliban administration, the EU issued a statement announcing that it would open its office in Kabul and send its diplomats back to Afghanistan. The Taliban also welcomed the reopening of that office and said it would be of mutual benefit. Since then, direct talks between the Taliban and the EU have started to take place in Doha and Oslo, the capital of Norway.
During the negotiations, EU officials recognized the Taliban and laid out five conditions for establishing diplomatic relations. These are: The Taliban respect human and women’s rights, form an inclusive government, the rule of law, the Taliban’s failure to provide humanitarian aid and Afghanistan’s status as a terrorist hideout.[2]
In another statement, Borrell also indicated that he was in favor of the opening of the EU office in Afghanistan, saying they were in dialog with the Taliban because of the situation in Afghanistan, and that he had no other options to build a relationship. In the talks with the Taliban, the EU delegation requested that private security companies or the security forces of the Member States ensure the security of the EU’s representative in Afghanistan. The Taliban states that they shall provide the security of all diplomatic missions. As a result of these discussions, the EU is convinced that the Taliban want to ensure the security of its representation. The Taliban Foreign Ministry has announced that the EU office in Kabul has officially started operating.[3]
“If the Taliban take over power by force, they’ll be isolated from the world,” Borrell said in a speech before the Ashraf Gani administration was toppled. However, at this point, the Association activates its representative office in Afghanistan and accepts the Taliban as an addressee. There are a number of reasons why the EU has backed down this way. These reasons must be addressed.
The main reason for the EU’s association with the Taliban is its intention to solve the problem of immigrants and drugs originating in Afghanistan. For many EU states perceive migrants as a threat to national security and border security.
As it is known, many Afghans left the country during the second Taliban rule and went to the neighboring countries. Their goal is to travel to EU countries as the weather gets warmer. Indeed, it is known that 750,000 people have officially sought asylum from EU states since 2015. The Afghan-based drug trafficking association is also concerned with the problem of migrants.
Drugs are harming the health of people, as well as financing terrorism. Due to illegal migration, the transportation of drugs to EU countries has become easier. The EU, therefore, striving to protect the interests of European states, works with the Taliban to stop Afghan-based migration and drug trafficking. Afghanistan, on the other hand, is improving its relations with its neighbors.
In this context, the EU has made statements over the past 20 years stating that it cannot accept other Afghan immigrants except those who work with them and that Afghans who left Afghanistan to neighboring states should stay in their countries. Because the EU attaches importance to regional co-operation, it intends to work with the countries next to Afghanistan to find a solution to the problem. In fact, the fact that the EU Commission took a decision in September 2021 to set up a regional platform with Afghanistan’s neighbors to help Afghanistan is a confirmation of this.
The second reason for the reopening of the EU’s representation in Kabul was to protect investments in the last 20 years and to closely monitor the Taliban’s behavior. Unlike the US, the EU believes it can maintain its gains by developing a proper relationship with the Taliban.
Another reason for the restart of the EU representation in Kabul was the desire to avoid the economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and to contribute to the resolution of the crisis. The economic and humanitarian crisis is the main reason for migration and drug production.
As it would be remembered, the EU froze €1 billion of funds allocated for the development of Afghanistan after the Taliban ruled the country. But it soon announced that it would provide €1.2 billion to Afghanistan over the next three years. “We must do our utmost to prevent a collapse of the social and economic space in Afghanistan,” Leyen said and explained the association’s aid package at the G-20 meeting. The described package foresees providing aid to the Afghan people and to Afghanistan’s neighbors. In addition, the EU has sent 60 tons of food to Afghanistan as a humanitarian aid.[4]
Finally, it could be argued that the EU maintained its presence in Afghanistan, thereby preventing the anti-Western actors from filling in the power vacuum that followed the US withdrawal. Because the EU is uncomfortable with China and Russia bridging the power vacuum created in Afghanistan by the US withdrawal, and they are trying to balance their competitors by staying in Afghanistan for whatever reason. In this context, European Parliament Member David Mc Allister called for the common stance of the US to prevent Russia and China from bridging the vacuum in Afghanistan. Furthermore, during his visit to Doha, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he was working on opening a joint representation in Afghanistan without acknowledging or establishing political relations with the Taliban. Indeed, the EU states are striving to secure their interests in Afghanistan through the representation of the EU.
As a result, the EU, together with the US, failed in Afghanistan but stayed in the country to ensure close monitoring, as much intervention as possible and international opinion. This also illustrates that communication channels with the Taliban are desirable to be open.
[1] “چشمانداز آینده روابط اتحادیه اروپا و افغانستان پس از سلطه طالبان”, Independent, https://l24.im/ny, (Date of Accession: 01.03.2022).
[2] “وزرای خارجه اتحادیه اروپا معیارهایی برای روابط با طالبان تعیین کردند”, Euronews, https://per.euronews.com/2021/09/03/eu-foreign-ministers-set-standards-for-relations-with-the-taliban, (Date of Accession: 01.03.2022).
[3] “بازگشایی سفارت اتحادیه اروپا در کابل”, Tolo News, https://tolonews.com/fa/afghanistan-176392, (Date of Accession: 01.03.2022).
[4] “اتحادیه اروپا یک میلیارد یورو به افغانستان کمک میکند”, 8am, https://8am.af/the-european-union-is-providing-e-1-billion-in-aid-to-afghanistan/, (Date of Accession: 01.03.2022).
