Brussels, 21/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Along with a discussion about the situation in Libya (see above), the Monday 21 February Foreign Affairs Council discussed the EU's resources that can be used to support democratic transition and social and economic reform in Egypt and Tunisia. Six countries wrote a joint letter to Catherine Ashton last week (see below) and these countries' foreign ministers called on Monday for thought to be given to redesigning the EU's neighbourhood policy vis-à-vis Mediterranean and Arab countries, making EU aid far more conditional on democratic progress than in the past. “The Council is committed to a new partnership involving more effective support to those countries in the Southern Neighbourhood which are pursuing political and economic reforms”, explains the Council in a conclusions document published on Monday evening. The EU27 stress the need to examine existing cooperation under the neighbourhood policy and Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) “with a view to lending more effective support reflecting partners' commitment for reform”.
Six countries send a letter. France, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia sent a letter to EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on 16 February, calling on her to change the EU neighbourhood policy and UfM to allow the EU to “accompany the transition and reforms in progress in the region”. In the letter, entitled “EU Action for the Southern Neighbourhood”, the six countries call for greater differentiation among the partnerships and aid to the various countries depending on how they are advancing towards the EU's values and the values of the European neighbourhood policy (ENP). They say the EU should offer each of the southern Mediterranean countries an overarching, differentiated vision combining aid for transferring their political, economic, institutional and social models (institutional twinning, election observer missions and exchange of best practice, for example); cooperation with the partner countries in tackling organised crime, illegal trade and illegal immigration; and stronger political dialogue. The EU Association Councils with these countries do not tackle these issues enough at the moment and greater use should be made of them. More frequent official visits by the high representative should be encouraged, along with support for civil society and the letter says that this approach would make it possible to make much greater progress with Southern ENP countries committed to reform by a dedicated system for the country in question, which could take the form of dedicated partnership contracts. At the same time, the EU should arrange all its action for Mediterranean countries in a single macro-regional strategy along the lines of the strategy for the Baltic Region and the Danube region, argue the six countries. Financial aid from the ENP for Mediterranean countries should be reduced. It is hard to justify and continue with the differences in aid granted to ENP beneficiary countries, they explain. The figures quoted in the letter are impressive - the EU gives €1.8 of aid per inhabitant to Egypt, €7 per inhabitant to Tunisia and a massive €25 a head for Moldova. The countries say that this aid should change in the light of current events.
Not at the expense of the Eastern Partnership. Janos Martonyi, Hungary's foreign minister, told reporters that the boosting of the ENP for the Mediterranean must not be at the expanse of the EU's connections with its eastern neighbours. He said that while there is currently a need to respond to an emergency in the south of the EU, that does not mean that the EU should pay less attention to countries in the east and the EU must continue to promote the Eastern Partnership with the same determination. (H.B./transl.fl)