The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs says the bloc has no other option but to engage with the Taliban following the fall of the Afghan government. 

However, Josep Borrell also insisted that engagement "doesn't mean recognition."

The EU's top diplomat was addressing the European Parliament, which is sitting in Strasbourg this week, ahead of a debate on Afghanistan. 

Insisting the "Afghan crisis is not over," Borrell also said the EU is considering setting up a diplomatic presence in Kabul. 

Western governments including the U.S. and the UK shuttered their embassies during the withdrawal of troops from the country last month.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) spent Tuesday afternoon debating the bloc's response to the Afghanistan crisis, including proposals to expand the EU's military resources. 

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A system of "battlegroups" was set up in 2007, designed to respond rapidly to a potential crisis, but has never been used due to disagreements between member states.

"We need to strengthen our own defense cooperation and military capabilities such as our intelligence or strategic airlift capacities," said David McAllister, a German MEP from the center-right EPP group. 

Other MEPs called for a greater focus on resettling migrants fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban seizing power.

Earlier this month, Borrell argued in a New York Times article the manner of the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a "wake-up call" and that Europeans found themselves "depending on American decisions."

During his speech on Tuesday, Borrell also said "population flows will happen" but added it's "unclear" how large they will be. 

European leaders fear the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan could trigger large numbers of migrants fleeing the country, with the 2015 migrant crisis fueled by the Syrian civil war fresh in their minds. 

The EU has already pledged to boost its humanitarian aid for the Afghan people from approximately $60 million to more than $235 million. 

Some of that money has been earmarked for neighboring countries to host and support refugees, as the bloc tries to avert another migration crisis similar to 2015.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also deliver a "State of the European Union" address in Strasbourg. 

She's expected to focus heavily on the bloc's response to COVID-19 and its economic recovery. A vote on a resolution on Afghanistan is scheduled for Thursday.

_{Cover image: Julien Warnand/Pool via REUTERS}