The first EU member states are considering resuming diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. This is according to a report by the Bloomberg news agency. This includes Italy and Spain. However, they want to wait for a minimum level of security. Germany and France are not ready yet.

Since 2021, Europe has only been represented by the joint EU representative in Kabul. However, the presence of the European External Action Service (EEAS) mission does not mean recognition of the Taliban as a government, according to the EU.

Some ambassadors from EU countries responsible for Afghanistan have been transferred to Doha, the capital of Qatar, for security reasons. Qatar is constantly in contact with the Taliban and acts as a mediator. Individual EU members are now considering reopening their diplomatic mission in Kabul.

They are not concerned with legitimizing Taliban rule, but with pragmatic reasons. These include:

• humanitarian aid measures for the Afghan population

• the implementation of development aid projects

• Measures against terrorist exports from Afghanistan to other countries

• and support for foreigners and Afghans who want to leave.

Germany has also not had an embassy in Afghanistan since August 2021 and is therefore having problems with the current plan to deport asylum seekers from Afghanistan who have committed criminal offenses to their country of origin.

In Berlin, a foreign office spokesperson told the government press conference that Germany had “selective contacts” with the Taliban's de facto government, for example on the sidelines of conferences in Doha. On the question of whether Germany is prepared to reopen an ambassador in Kabul, the AA spokesperson said: “The conditions for this are not met at the moment. We are, of course, always looking at this closely and verifying it, but for such a normalization step, clear requirements must be met with regard to the situation in Afghanistan. ”

Conversely, Afghanistan continues to have an embassy in Berlin. Ambassador is Yama Yari after the hasty departure of Western countries and the Taliban seized power, he himself did not know for a long time whether he would remain an ambassador under the Taliban. In the media forum “korrespondenten.cafe” in Berlin, he told the moderator Ewald König in November 2021 that he had no contact with Kabul and was no longer being transferred money for his message. But he's holding his ground. He continues to represent Afghanistan in Germany.

Eko