Brussels, 22/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The special representative of the EU for Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, has launched a further appeal to the member states on continued training for the civilian police force of Afghanistan. In addition to the paramilitary police currently being trained (Ed: by the NATO training mission), Afghanistan will need a civilian police force, he stated from his office in Kabul, whilst the NATO summit on Saturday 20 November approved the timetable for the progressive withdrawal of its combat troops (see Europe Diplomacy & Defence N° 368). The training can be carried out by the EU police mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL Afghanistan), but, in order to move forward, “we will need (the support) of the member states”, said Usackas.
The mandate for this mission, which is headed up by Jukka Savalainen of Finland, expires at the end of May 2013, one year before the end of the Afghan transitional process announced by NATO on Saturday. At the moment, however, the EUPOL mission comprises some hundred personnel, who provide assistance to train officers of the Afghan police force. The majority of the efforts of the European states goes on training the Afghan police and soldiers and is provided by the NATO mission, amongst other sources. NATO's stated objective is to train 171,600 soldiers and 134,000 police officers by next October, who will then be responsible for the security of the country. The training proposed by the EU would therefore require either reinforcements to staff numbers of the mission, or the use of private trainers, which has already been brought up by Usackas (EUROPE 10224). A further recent call for tenders to increase staffing levels of EUPOL is still underway. Furthermore, taking part on Saturday in the meeting of the heads of state or government of the countries which contribute to ISAF (International Security Assistance Force of NATO in Afghanistan), the president of the European Commission announced an increase in EU aid for stabilisation and reconstruction in Afghanistan. This aid will be increased by €200 million a year over the next three years. “The total contribution of the EU will be nearly a billion euros a year” over the same period, said José Manuel Barosso in a press release published on Saturday. He added: “Afghanistan is a clear example of a vital need for the coordination of humanitarian, civilian and military instruments. Security, political reform and economic development support each other”. We are working on an “even closer partnership between the European Union and NATO, with the mutual advantages this will bring”, he said. (A.By./transl.fl)