EU's Migration Deals with Authoritarian Regimes Undermine European Values and Threaten All Citizens
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/shada-islam. "The EU is inviting the Taliban to Brussels. Europe’s credibility lies in tatters | Shada Islam | The Guardian." June 11, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that Europe is betraying its own values by making deals with brutal regimes like the Taliban to deport migrants. She warns this isn't just bad for migrants - when governments start treating some people as less human, eventually everyone becomes a target.
Conclusion
The EU's willingness to engage with authoritarian regimes like the Taliban for migration control represents a dangerous erosion of European values that threatens the rights and safety of all citizens, not just migrants
Premises
- The EU is preparing to host Taliban representatives in Brussels to discuss deportations to Afghanistan, despite not formally recognizing the regime
- The new EU migration pact includes ICE-style detention and deportation measures that violate human rights principles
- The EU selectively applies its rules and principles depending on who is affected, as seen in different treatment of Ukrainian versus Global South refugees
- European politicians are using dehumanizing language and bureaucratic euphemisms to justify increasingly harsh migration policies
- History shows that when political elites convince people some humans deserve fewer rights, the circle of exclusion expands to include everyone
- The EU's approach represents a shift from migration management to deterrence to deportation, normalizing previously unacceptable policies
- The same institutions failing to protect migrants are also failing to address other human rights violations like Gaza
Assumptions
- Historical patterns of rights erosion will repeat in contemporary Europe
- There is a moral equivalence between different human rights violations
- The EU's founding values of democracy, human rights, and rule of law should be consistently applied
- Migration policies reflect broader attitudes toward human dignity and rights
- Authoritarian partnerships for migration control legitimize those regimes