ROME — With Afghanistan cut off from foreign support and plunging into a dire economic crisis, the European Union said Tuesday that it will provide $1.16 billion in aid to Afghanistan and neighboring countries as a way to avoid "catastrophe."

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       “We must do all we can to avert a major humanitarian and socioeconomic collapse in Afghanistan,” Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in a statement.

       The E.U.’s pledge came just ahead of a virtual Group of 20 summit on the topic of Afghanistan, where one of the most urgent issues involves how to stave off famine and the collapse of basic services while not providing a signal of support for the Taliban leaders.

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       At the summit, President Biden addressed the leaders of the G-20 virtually and they discussed the “critical need to maintain a laser-focus on our enduring counterterrorism efforts” as well as ensuring safe passage for those seeking to leave the country, according to the White House.

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       The participants also reaffirmed their commitment to provide humanitarian assistance straight to the Afghan people through international organizations rather than via the new government.

       Across Kabul, evidence of Afghanistan’s fast-unraveling economy under the Taliban is everywhere

       Until the Taliban takeover two months ago, Afghanistan had survived on international aid — but that inflow has been halted now that nations have cut diplomatic ties. Many of the previously largest donors, including the United States and the European Union, have pressured the Taliban to show progress on issues like women’s rights and countering terrorism. Von der Leyen on Tuesday said the E.U. still needed the Taliban to meet such benchmarks before overall development aid — rather than this one-time sum — would be unfrozen.

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       “But the Afghan people should not pay the price of the Taliban’s actions,” von der Leyen said.

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       Aid groups have warned of a pending humanitarian disaster that is grave even by the standards of a 20-year war. The economy is all but stalled. Banks are closed. The primary health care system is on the brink of collapse. The World Food Program said last week that just 5 percent of households are consuming enough food. More than a million children could face acute malnutrition.

       Speaking to reporters Monday, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said it was a “make or break moment” in the country, and warned of a “heavy price” if other nations don’t help Afghanistan “weather this storm.”

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       But he made it clear that the issue was complex. He said countries also shouldn’t have to compromise principles in providing aid — and said the responsibility was primarily on those now leading Afghanistan, whom he criticized for curtailing the rights of Afghan girls and women.

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       The E.U. aid package, some $350 million of which had already been earmarked, includes funding that will be directed to Afghanistan’s neighbors to “enhance security.” Many leaders in Europe have worried about the knock-on effects of a humanitarian crisis, which could lead to a major rise in migration — not only across the region, but into Europe.

       The European pledge is significant: The sum goes well beyond what countries like the United States had been offering annually in humanitarian support, even before the Taliban takeover. Since 2002, the U.S. has given Afghanistan a total of $3.9 billion in humanitarian assistance, according to USAID.

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       The meeting Tuesday was expected to not only address the topic of aid, but also the question of how to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a seedbed for terrorist groups, particularly the Islamic State. Among the G-20 nations, there is general agreement about the security concerns. Countries in that group, which include China and Russia, have also been fairly aligned in how they’ve handled the new Taliban leaders: so far, none has officially recognized the Taliban government.

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       But there also plenty of thorny issues, including what preconditions to set for diplomatic recognition, and when to resume developmental aid that would be given directly to the Taliban to help the country beyond the immediate crisis.

       “China and Russia will have a much lower bar for what they would need to see from the Taliban in order to recognize it than the Western countries,” said Michael Kugelman, an Afghanistan scholar at the Wilson Center. “Put simply, the West is going to put more preconditions in place for recognition,” including progress in women’s rights.

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       The acting foreign minister for the Taliban, Amir Khan Muttaqi, meanwhile insisted that the “international community needs to start cooperating with us,” during a conference in Doha on Monday, so that insecurity in the country could be addressed. He did not, however, commit to restarting secondary education for girls, which has been halted.

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