EU asylum body says Afghan women qualify for refugee status on gender alone — as governments pursue Taliban deportation talks

The EU Agency for Asylum's June 2026 Country Guidance states that Afghan women may qualify for refugee status solely based on nationality and gender. The same month, fifteen European ambassadors met Taliban officials in Brussels to discuss returning Afghan refugees. Germany lifted its ban on deportations to Kabul in 2024. Roughly half a million Afghans have sought EU asylum since the Taliban seized power in 2021.