Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-471"
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"en.20071024.44.3-471"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, I should like to begin by thanking Mr Cappato for his work on this report. The report posed a great challenge as it attempts to respond to one of the most difficult problems in the contemporary world.
Opium production in Afghanistan is increasing year on year. According to the latest annual report, opium production is now double what it was two years ago. In practice, Afghanistan currently has a monopoly of the supply of the deadliest drug in the world. It accounts for 93% of world production of opiates. Our President is numbered amongst those who believe that Afghanistan’s fate is our common cause. The heroic struggle of the Afghan people during the Cold War period contributed to the spread of freedom across the contemporary world and to the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe. The European Union is now honour bound to provide Afghanistan with military, administrative and economic assistance.
This also involves assistance in combating the production of drugs in Afghanistan. It should be remembered that the main incentive for Afghan growers to produce opiates is financial profit. This should be borne in mind when devising the European aid programme aimed at resolving the problem. That is why I particularly wished to commend Mr Cappato on the courageous proposals he makes in this report. They may well help to resolve the situation in question.
One of these proposals involves offering aid through the introduction of a pilot scientific project for the production of poppies for medical purposes which will allow for further research into the extent to which awarding licences can contribute to poverty reduction, diversification of the rural economy, general development and improved security. In a nutshell, this is not about moralising but about the European Union making an effective contribution to resolving this problem in Afghanistan."@en1
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