Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-22-Speech-4-225"
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"en.20080522.30.4-225"2
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, initially, we did not wish Parliament to consider right now the situation in Burundi, for, as you know, the Burundian authorities are currently negotiating with the FNL, the National Liberation Forces; they have reached a critical stage which is finally presenting a positive outlook and which should, we hope, lead to the practical implementation of the agreements entered into in Dar es Salaam that aim to put an end to the fighting, violence and insecurity affecting the country. As we now know, the beating of a butterfly’s wings in Strasbourg may sometimes unleash a hurricane thousands of miles away.
On the other hand, not to speak of the situation of this small country that has been orphaned in terms of its development, having been stripped of its natural resources of the kind that often attract donors, would have been unthinkable. Therefore, in agreement with the other political groups, we wanted to make this resolution into a call for positive action with regard to this associated country situated in the troubled Great Lakes Region. We wanted to reiterate the EU’s determination, and especially that of Parliament and of yourself, Commissioner, to seek new solutions for development aid that are more effective in those countries that are weakened by situations of conflict – in this instance, civil war – countries where issues such as the process of democratic reconstruction, the restoration of destroyed public services and the relaunch of policies on matters as fundamental as health and education might be addressed and supported more effectively and more rapidly. We wanted this resolution to form part of the action plan that the Netherlands has been asked to develop for Burundi, which has been selected – and we are delighted that it has been so selected – as one of three pilot countries under this new approach. Therefore, we have made our wishes clear. We want Burundi to become a model of development and, in order to achieve this, we want the authorities of this small country to be provided with the financial resources and support required for civil, political and economic reconstruction.
Parliament will monitor developments very closely, but it also wishes to call on Burundian MPs from all political groupings to seek, as a matter of urgency, ways and means of bringing their institutions back into operation, after having been prevented from carrying out their work for months, with a view to holding debates and voting, as well as allowing the Burundian Government to implement projects aimed at reconstruction such as the long-awaited reform of the judiciary and that of the healthcare system, among other areas requiring urgent action.
Finally, we should like to point out that Burundi, one of the world’s poorest countries, receives proportionately the least amount of development aid per capita. This cannot continue. We should like to request that additional financial resources be released quickly to finance priority development programmes and, in particular, the rebuilding of shattered infrastructure. Along with the EU, only five Member States are represented in Burundi, a country where everything remains to be done. We hope that these countries coordinate their efforts effectively prior to any decision-making in Europe’s capital cities and that the delegations on the ground in Burundi entrusted with implementing development policies continue working together and that their staff numbers are increased.
In conclusion, I should like to emphasise the paragraph in our resolution which refers to the maintenance of, and possible increase in, much-needed humanitarian aid, and I should also like to urge that arrangements for the withdrawal of this aid be made in close association with the stepping up of development policies whose implementation is more complex. In this connection, we wanted to make the point so as to ensure that the visibility of the measures taken locally by the Burundian authorities, with the backing of the European Union and the Member States, is properly acknowledged. Apart from the resolution of conflict with the FNL and the restoration of greater security, the Burundian people urgently need to see improvements in their country’s development reflected in their troubled daily lives."@en1
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