Western countries have declined to recognise the Taliban since the Militant fighters swept back to power in Afghanistan five years ago, overthrowing ​a government that had been backed by US and ​NATO troops for two decades.

An EU spokesperson said the ⁠planned Brussels meeting was being set up in response to ​a request from several EU member states. No date had been ​set yet, and the meeting did not mean the EU had recognised the Taliban.

The meeting appeared to be the first publicly announced visit by Taliban ​officials to Brussels, although the spokesperson said he was not ​able to confirm this.

EU officials had already travelled to Kabul for a meeting ‌in ⁠January, the spokesperson said, and the EU was now working “on a potential follow-up meeting at a technical level in Brussels with the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to pursue these discussions”.

Hundreds of thousands ​of Afghans have ​sought asylum in ⁠Europe since the Taliban takeover of the country. European law allows some migrants who commit crimes ​or are considered a security threat to be ​deported, but ⁠this has been difficult to carry out with Afghanistan because of the lack of diplomatic relations.

The EU spokesperson said Sweden was helping ⁠to ​coordinate the planned Brussels meeting. The ​Swedish government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.