Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-16-Speech-3-157"
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"en.20090916.16.3-157"2
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"Madam President, honourable Members, Commissioner, Mr Peterle, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to discuss the EU’s links with Tajikistan and, in particular, the importance we place on laying a new foundation for our relations with the country by entering into a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
I know that Parliament has a strong interest in this issue. As far back as February 2008, in your resolution on an EU strategy for Central Asia, you called on the Member States to ratify the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement quickly – thereby confirming Parliament’s intention to approve the agreement within the near future.
Now the Agreement has been ratified and there is a strong desire to move on with the remaining steps as quickly as possible, so that the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement can enter into force as soon as possible, hopefully before the end of the year. If so, it would send a clear signal that we are opening a new chapter in our relations between the European Union and Tajikistan.
Tajikistan is an important part of our overall strategy for Central Asia. This hardly accessible country is one of the poorest in the world. It has a poorly maintained border with Afghanistan, making it a major route for drug smuggling and a way into the region for radical Islamists. Consequently, we have a great interest in supporting Tajikistan, both for its own sake and in order to solve our common problems. We are already doing this through a number of contacts. The Swedish Presidency sent a high level group to the region in July, and a ministerial conference with Central Asia was held in Brussels yesterday.
However, Tajikistan is one of very few countries on the EU’s eastern border with which we have not yet concluded an overall agreement since the Cold War ended. If we seriously want to get to grips with the issues that I mentioned, we need to create a suitable framework for our future relations. The arrangements for political dialogue and practical cooperation with Tajikistan must be improved so as to better reflect the shared challenges faced by the region. A Partnership and Cooperation Agreement would provide us with a more structured way of discussing matters in which we have a shared interest: human rights, the rule of law, the drugs trade and organised crime, as well as terrorism and religious organisation.
At the same time, we need to make progress on issues relating to democracy, good social management and human rights in the region. We are well aware that this is no easy task. I therefore very much welcome the structured dialogue with Tajikistan on human rights that is providing an opportunity to conduct a proper discussion. The second round of this dialogue will take place in Dushanbe on 23 September.
We must continue to encourage Tajikistan to introduce a programme of reforms. Developments are often very worrying. We would like to see a more democratic approach within the country as regards freedom of organisation, religious freedom, freedom of the media and the development of civil society. We must do our utmost to convince Tajikistan that the rule of law must be observed in the fight against illegal activities, the drugs trade and terrorism. We must emphasise that human rights and basic freedoms must be respected as a way of preventing ethnic or cultural conflicts.
We are also very worried about the extensive corruption that is to be found in the country. It is hindering not only development in Tajikistan, but also effective contributions from donors. We should use every channel available to appeal to the Tajik authorities to tackle this problem as quickly as possible. We cannot ignore the fact that all the transit routes for the drugs trade – or a great many at least – pass through Tajikistan. The country is vulnerable to radical movements and international organised crime. We must increase our support for Tajikistan in order to counter this activity while, at the same time, providing alternative sources of income. This strategy accords well with our commitment in Afghanistan and our work on stabilising that country. We welcome Tajikistan’s interest in cooperation and support its efforts.
Tajikistan has demonstrated an open, constructive attitude to discussions on our shared challenges. That is positive. This dialogue is an important element of our support for Tajikistan in its work on promoting cooperation with its neighbours and finding solutions to urgent, complex regional problems such as climate change, water and border controls. In view of the fact that we have a strong interest in dealing with many of these problems more effectively and efficiently, I welcome the opportunity to create a new basis for our relations with Tajikistan. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement provides us with a framework within which we can develop our bilateral relations further and thereby contribute to the overall goals of our strategy for the whole of Central Asia. I therefore call on this Parliament to vote in favour of the Agreement, so that it can enter into force as soon as possible."@en1
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