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Politico (17 October 2025)

Nette Nöstlinger and Milka Fijalkowska

Germany’s leaders don’t officially recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, but that’s not stopping them from dealing with the pariah regime to get something they badly want.

As Germany and other EU states intensify their migration crackdowns, European leaders are examining ways to deport Afghan migrants to Afghanistan in large numbers. In return for the Taliban’s cooperation, Germany in particular is providing the regime — which is formally recognised only by Moscow — some of what it most craves internationally: legitimacy.

Germany is leading the charge within the EU to establish ties to the Taliban government — and its leaders believe other European nations are likely to follow. The push comes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, under political pressure from the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, have repeatedly vowed to deport more migrants, including Afghans, who form the second-largest group of asylum seekers in Germany after Syrians.

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