Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-12-Speech-2-526-000"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2012-06-12"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:A new strategy for Afghanistan (debate)2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20120612.22.2-526-000"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2012-06-12-Speech-2-527-0002
lpv:speaker	lp:Catherine Ashton2
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, let me begin by saying that those in this House who believe that we need to commit to Afghanistan will recognise that this is a long-term commitment and that the stability and security not just of the region, but way beyond the region, are partly dependent on the success that Afghanistan can achieve and the way that its people can be supported into a better future. The commitment, though, is there. We have got to try and find ways to tackle the real issues that stand in the way of Afghanistan going forward. But we have to recognise that this is a long-term commitment and a commitment that moves us beyond 2014 into the work we need to do on development. If we do not, I believe the consequences will be enormous, not just for the people of Afghanistan, but actually for us too. There is no doubt, too, that this is a commitment that is difficult at times. It requires us to continue to push hard on ensuring that what we believe should be done by the Afghan Government is indeed done, and that we ensure that our resources are well spent. The European Union spends EUR 200 million a year in Afghanistan on a range of different programmes to try and support stability, economic growth, the role of women, health care, rural development – a whole range of different projects – and especially to support the building of a civilian police force, so essential to the state’s future, when justice and the rule of law can be not only talked about but can be seen to be effective across the country. In addition, EUR 1 billion are spent by Member States across the European Union to try and support these efforts. There are good news stories. Unfortunately, it is very difficult sometimes to understand the positive side of what is happening in Afghanistan, but we have seen health care improve, infant mortality going down, and very many girls in school and finally getting the education they deserve. Access to health care at a primary level, which used to be less than 10%, is now more than 60%. These are important, alongside many of the other ways in which we can try and support this country into the future. I am sorry that Mr Arlacchi feels disappointed in this. I know that you met with our chief operating officer a few weeks ago, and I hope that was a useful meeting. I will just comment on a couple of issues I know are of particular importance to you. We are supportive of the Afghan-led peace process and reconciliation but we talked again in Bonn about the ‘red lines’ that have been restated. We have to be clear that we need respect for the Afghan constitution, including its human rights provisions; I believe that is indispensable. I believe you agree with me on that, because only then will this process be truly inclusive, representing the legitimate interests of all the people of Afghanistan, regardless of gender, regardless of social status. We said in Bonn that we must see the region respect and support the peace process and its outcome. So the Istanbul process is under way and, in a few days, the ministerial regional conference in Kabul should hopefully provide some real concrete evidence of the growing understanding by Afghanistan’s neighbours that they have got a lot to gain from a sovereign, stable and united Afghanistan. I know, too, that the proposals on eradication of opium cultivation were to set aside EUR 100 million and to create an agency with its own budget and staff. But we have chosen to try and back the structures that we have actually got in place on the ground, to try and work with the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of the Interior, because, in truth, trying to eradicate the cultivation of drugs is about a whole raft of programmes. It means rural development, it means health, it means law enforcement and it means border management. What we also know, of course, is that the areas where you have greater persistence in opium poppy production are those that have neither security nor governance, so not areas where we are able to operate, nor indeed would we be able to pursue the policy in the way that I know you would wish to see."@en1
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Catherine Ashton,"1 "Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy."1
lpv:videoURI	<go to Events_and_structure europarl>2

Named graphs describing this resource:

The resource appears as object in 2 triples

Context graph