Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-12-Speech-2-507-000"
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"Mr President, our overall strategy in Afghanistan remains to assist the Afghan Government and people to be able to run their own country.
With both the Afghan Government and international colleagues, I emphasised the critical role that a uniformed police – distinct from the military – needs to play in any democratic society so that people can have confidence in the rule of law and the fair administration of justice.
Our EUPOL training mission provides important support to this role – training police and improving the links between the police and justice. Cooperation with the NATO training mission is working well and, as suggested in the report, we continue to aim for a more complementary division of tasks at both strategic and operational level. We are currently undertaking a strategic review of EUPOL and will reach conclusions on this in the summer.
Counter narcotics will remain an important element of our engagement. The problem of drugs cannot be tackled by crop substitution alone. It needs to be addressed in all our programmes.
On 14 June, we will have an important conference in Kabul which will focus on increased regional cooperation – advancing the ‘Heart of Asia’ initiative that began in Istanbul last year. That meeting will highlight the important role countries in the region have to play in supporting conflict resolution, better security and development. The European Union has much experience on how to advance regional cooperation and we stand ready to offer that expertise and support to Afghanistan’s neighbours.
Honourable Members will know that I have just returned from Pakistan, where I raised these issues with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and other leaders. I stressed that while we would continue our engagement, Afghanistan’s transition could not succeed without a constructive stance by its neighbours, and we recognised Pakistan’s crucial role in this respect.
Then, in Tokyo next month, there will be the opportunity for the Afghan Government to set out its development strategy for the country. In Tokyo, the EU will make it clear that our commitment requires a corresponding commitment from the government of Afghanistan to make progress on the issues that matter to us: electoral reform; public finance management; justice and human rights. Above all, we will emphasise that the focus needs to be on results. That means the political will to drive through difficult reforms, and it also means having the necessary security to allow development to take place, especially outside of Kabul.
In line with the recommendations of the report, the EU will press for better coordination of donor support, and a better alignment between the Afghan Government and donors on priorities. We will consider joint programming of EU and Member States’ assistance as circumstances allow.
The EU and Member States are making a real contribution to Afghanistan. The Afghan Government is doing a lot, but it needs to do more to fulfil those key commitments: to hold credible and transparent elections; to improve the management of public finances and to advance human rights, especially the rights of women and children.
I want to end with a word on the role of women in Afghanistan. I have met with representatives of Afghan women on several occasions – and did so last in the margins of the Bonn conference in December. Their stories and their leadership are remarkable. Afghan women leaders and civil society activists are very concerned that the gains and achievements women have made in the last decade are fragile. This will be a critical issue in any peace talks, but equally we must continue to focus on Afghanistan’s governance and, in particular, the justice institutions: they are key to ensuring that the Afghan Government is able to respond to the commitments it made in London, in Kabul and in Bonn. This is one area where the EU can, and must, play a strong role.
I believe that, in many respects, Afghan women hold the key to the future of their country – and we need to do our utmost to support them as the transition unfolds.
Ten years after 2001, we have embarked on what the Bonn conference called last December a ‘transformational decade’, sustaining our engagement but changing its nature, and putting Afghans more and more in control.
There has been some real progress – more than half the country and half the people are already under Afghan security control. But, equally, insurgency remains a major threat to security across the country. I want to extend my personal condolences to the families of the four French soldiers who were killed on Saturday.
Many challenges lie ahead. Afghanistan needs, above all, better governance. Without functioning politics and institutions that can be seen to be legitimate and effective, the transition will not succeed. But we also need better action against drugs, better management of public finances, better rule of law and better human rights protection. Continued and increased Afghan leadership will be vital to meeting these challenges.
As the transition advances, it is right that we look to the government of Afghanistan to set out its own long-term strategy for the country. We are working with the government, Member States and others in the international community to put in place a strategic framework and agreed priorities.
We will play our part. Provided the government of Afghanistan meets its obligations, the EU and Member States have committed to enhancing their assistance in Afghanistan for the next ten-year period. We have begun negotiations with the Afghan Government on a new framework – the cooperation agreement for partnership and development – which will provide a legal basis for our cooperation in all civilian fields and assistance to Afghanistan. We expect that assistance from the EU budget will focus on where we can add most value: on health, agriculture, governance and civilian policing.
It is crucial that we have confidence that our assistance is being used for the purposes for which it is intended – to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans. That is why we have laid such emphasis on the transparency of public finances. The Arlacchi report – and I pay tribute to Mr Arlacchi, who is here with us this evening – is right to insist that we must, and I quote ‘ensure transparency and accountability in relation to the assistance provided to the Afghan Government, international organisations and NGOs’.
I have read the allegations of mismanagement of the Law and Order Trust Fund by UNDP with grave concern. I welcome the fact that a full investigation has been announced, and we will await the conclusions of that investigation and take action as appropriate.
Of course, we are now in the midst of three different conferences that will determine the relationship between the international community and the Afghan Government. Last month, I attended the NATO summit in Chicago, where we set out plans to sustain and develop the Afghan National Security Forces. Both President Barroso and I highlighted the importance that we attach to civilian policing and we announced that we would increase our funding for civilian police by 20% for the period 2011-2013; and also that we intend to make an enhanced contribution post-2014."@en1
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