European Union 'in no rush' to recognise Taliban's government in Afghanistan

The European Union is in no hurry to recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan's new ruler or establish any official relations with the terrorist group. The European Commission informed after a meeting with several delegations that they are, instead, looking forward to using the leverages they have and hold proper communication with the Taliban before considering any official relationship.

'We need to influence the Taliban': Gunnar Wiegand

The European Commission's Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, Gunnar Wiegand, while speaking at a joint session on Wednesday, said, "We need to communicate with the Taliban, we need to influence the Taliban, we need to make use of the leverages that we have but we will not rush into recognising this new formation nor to establishing official relations."

Wiegand was speaking at a joint conference of the European Parliament's committees with the delegations about the Afghanistan situation. He also spoke on the evacuation operations in Afghanistan and informed that till now about 520 members and Afghan support staff have been evacuated from Afghanistan and will return to the country when the situation permits. However, it will continue its mission in Brussels. 

Meanwhile, the United States concluded its evacuation operation on 31 August, bringing an end to a two-decade-long war. Later, speaking on the matter, US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin III had said that a total of 6,000 American citizens and 124, 000 civilians have evacuated from Afghanistan. 

European Commission's halts development funds

Earlier in August, the European Commission clearly stated that it has not recognised the Taliban and was not holding any talks with the militant group. In this light, the Commission is currently not looking forward to releasing the €1 billion slated for development in the country.

Speaking on the matter, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said that the €1 billion development fund was strictly meant for the development of human rights, minorities, women and girls, and so on. However, due to the unclear situation in Afghanistan, it will not be released at this moment.

(Image: AP)