Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-25-Speech-3-199"
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"en.20001025.8.3-199"2
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".
Mr President, the Commission communication which we are discussing was published one and a half years ago following the outbreak of war in Central Africa. In the absence of a consensus, the Council has put the communication on ice all that time. In that time, an estimated 1.2 million people have been killed in the Congo war. In my report, I made a modest attempt to formulate a number of proposals in order to help end the spiral of violence and underdevelopment in which many of our ACP partners have ended up. These proposals also aim to avoid European funds being used to finance the war machine. My report can be summarised in three Cs: conditionality, coherence and control. More so than has been the case so far, there should be a clear link between debt relief and financial assistance on the one hand, and good governance, respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law on the other.
I would even argue in favour of fixing a ceiling for military expenditure in the ACP countries above which assistance or debt relief is no longer provided. If these conditions are not met, the European Union needs to be prepared to take appropriate measures, ranging from diplomatic pressure and suspending aid, through to sanctions with a preference for arms and diamond embargoes or so-called ‘smart’ sanctions, which target the ruling elite rather than the population.
In this connection, I would also urge the Commission to apply unambiguous criteria for suspending aid. I believe it would be particularly useful, in the framework of Article 96 of the Cotonou Convention, to compile a list of all possible infringements of this Convention. At present, I cannot shake off the impression that the Commission is applying an ad hoc approach too often, which can make it vulnerable to the accusation of applying double standards.
In addition to conditionality, the emphasis is on more coherence, i.e. more coherence between the Lomé track and the CFSP track and between the policies of the Union and of the Member States. Situations such as those in Ethiopia, where the European Commission and a number of Member States froze aid, while other Member States started up new programmes, must be avoided at all costs. Moreover, stricter control on Community spending is required as a matter of urgency. ACP states involved in armed conflict should allow the World Bank and the IMF full access to their accounts. Misuse of European development aid for the purchase of weapons should immediately lead to the suspension of structural aid. In that respect, Europe cannot be strict enough.
All of this should not detract from one of the European Union’s key roles, namely conflict prevention. As Rwanda and Ethiopia have shown, the alarm signals are usually in place, but the reaction to these is often inadequate and late. This is why it is important to tackle the cause of the problems in good time. Conflict prevention also involves the fight against poverty, the reinforcement of democracy and civil society, better control of the illegal arms trade, the setting up of an African peace-keeping force, as well as an international regulation on the use of mercenary armies and better control of the worldwide ban on child soldiers. In my report, I also call for greater involvement of the European Parliament. It seems essential to me that we have more of a say in the freezing or unfreezing of aid.
I hope that the Council will not once again shelve this important communication, inspired by former Commissioner Deus Pinheiro. If we are serious about contributing to a peace deal in Central Africa, we must take firm and coherent action, aid must be made subject to conditions and a general arms embargo will need to apply in the Great Lakes region. Development aid should under no circumstance be used to fund wars. That is unacceptable, both to the people affected and to the European taxpayer."@en1
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