Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-19-Speech-2-126"
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"en.20100119.7.2-126"2
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"Madam President, when we look at Iraq today, we see real progress, though the country still faces a multitude of challenges. But I want to focus today on the present and the future of Iraq, as a country with great potential and notable achievements over the past months.
Honourable Members, Iraq is on a positive trajectory. I am confident it will use its new institutions to find the compromises necessary for national reconciliation. For our part, we will continue to stand by Iraq and continue our support together with the UN and the rest of the international community.
I look forward to our debate.
Violence today is at its lowest since 2003. Although we have seen terrible attacks targeting government institutions, the total number of civilian deaths in 2009 was less than half of the level of 2008. Inter-sectarian violence, a major problem in 2006 and 2007, has been significantly reduced.
Iraq has a new constitution and has conducted several elections with high participation at great risk. Thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, democratic institutions have taken root. Provincial elections last year went fairly smoothly all over Iraq. Crucially, the next general elections, due on 7 March 2010, can be another big step towards consolidating the Iraqi democracy.
For our part, this means our work to support Iraq must continue, and move into new areas as the situation improves.
The European Union has provided more than EUR 1 billion in assistance to Iraq since 2003. It has gone towards basic services, human development, refugees, good governance, political process and capacity building – all in accordance with Iraqi priorities. Our Integrated Rule of Law Mission, EUJUST LEX, has been extended several times at Iraqi request and is now also training inside Iraq.
The EU has been playing a leading role in electoral assistance, and we will continue to assist Iraq in this and other areas until Iraqi institutions can assume full responsibility themselves. As there is good progress, we are focusing more and more on Iraqi ownership and long-term sustainability.
We are also developing our relations with Iraq. We have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation, and we will soon sign a partnership and cooperation agreement, the first contractual relationship between the EU and Iraq. It will cover issues from political dialogue to trade and regulatory cooperation and development assistance.
We want a broader and deeper political dialogue with Iraq, which should also cover human rights. Parliament has taken a keen interest in Iraq, and we expect to see even more cooperation between the European Parliament and the Iraqi Council of Representatives in the future.
Clearly, Iraq must deal with the many challenges. The upcoming general elections will be crucial, and should be free and fair. With our international partners, we will be following them very closely. The EU will be deploying an Election Assessment Team to Iraq to assess the election and make targeted recommendations."@en1
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