Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-08-Speech-2-064"
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"en.20080708.5.2-064"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, honourable Members of this Parliament, Mr Brie, I should perhaps first like to say a few words in German and to thank you for this very important and first-rate report, and for the excellent way in which you cooperated with my staff both in Kabul and in Brussels. I would also endorse the words expressed both by you and by the President-in-Office of the Council. It truly tragic that yesterday we again witnessed such a calamity as this terrorist attack. On one hand we of course have to express our clearest condemnation, but on the other there are also the victims to consider. This is precisely the setting in which this debate unfortunately has to take place.
Let me say that I think this very comprehensive report is very important in this difficult and precarious security situation and we cannot, and will not, allow those who wish to take Afghanistan backwards to prevail.
Over the last months, and particularly during the preparation of this report, we have been working very closely with the rapporteur. I wanted to thank you for your interest as witnessed, firstly, by the two visits the European Parliament has made there and, secondly, in November 2007, when you again received parliamentarians from the Wolesi Jirga in Brussels, which was an important sign for them. We have worked with a dedicated Delegation for relations with Afghanistan; you are following developments on the ground very closely, and we try to help where we can.
Finally, your report addresses
central issue: how can we stabilise Afghanistan, what are the challenges facing the international community, and how can we deal with them? In the same spirit, at the important conference in Paris we said clearly that we want to overcome the threat of terrorism; but, at the same time, we also have a challenge in our public opinions everywhere, because they do not always appreciate the challenges, and do not always embrace all the efforts that it takes to combat this threat.
I think the Paris Conference was also a very important and good opportunity to review our strategy, to focus it even more clearly. The Commission has committed EUR 1.2 billion from 2002-2007. We have particularly worked on the following: firstly, providing better security in Afghanistan by financing police salaries, closely linking this to support for Afghanistan’s police and its reform; secondly, providing alternative livelihoods to the opium poppy and thus helping to eradicate drugs; thirdly, improving the lives of Afghans – we have focused here particularly on healthcare, where we already have been part of the undeniable success of recent years, and I would also say that we have worked on the infrastructure and regional integration with transit links, such as the important road from Jalalabad to Kabul.
However, the Paris Conference also delivered a distinct political message about overdue changes. These changes are indispensable if we want to realise mutual obligations under the Afghanistan compact and turn international efforts – all our efforts – into success on the ground. Therefore, we all know that more and better coordination is needed among all the actors involved. I can also praise Mr Kai Eide, whom I have known for many years, who is an excellent person. He will play a central role and I can assure you we will all work with him very closely.
But, of course, we also see the necessity for a genuine commitment by our Afghan partners. They really have to go for more ownership in their state-building process, and this comes, of course, with its own responsibility and with a vision for a stable country for the future. We are heading towards the elections in 2009 and 2010; undoubtedly for the Government it will be crucial to regain legitimacy, which has been dented by corruption and weak governance, notably in the provinces, and therefore we are looking into ways of how to best support the election process.
Afghanistan is at a crossroads. Many of the early achievements of democratic state-building – notably human rights, freedom of expression and the media – are somewhat under pressure. It will be hard under such circumstances for a civil society to emerge. In this context, your commitment here in Parliament – and I thank the rapporteur once again – and your cooperation with the Afghan Parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, are invaluable. I think you can contribute to this fostering of a democratic process.
As the EU – and I close with that – we have the responsibility to support Afghanistan in the interest not only of the people of that country and of the stability of the whole region but also of Europe. This is what we also have to clearly tell our taxpayers."@en1
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