Brussels, 28/06/2011 - (Agence Europe) - As NATO allies begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, senior EU officials warned on Tuesday 28 June that it is vital for the European Union to prepare its development strategy for the conflict-torn country beyond 2014. “The military engagement in Afghanistan makes us responsible for enabling the Afghan people to assume responsibility for their own state. This means a long-term engagement beyond our military goals”, said Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament.
President Barack Obama announced this month that more than 30,000 US troops would leave Afghanistan by the end of next year, with France and Belgium now planning their own withdrawals. Obama's plan is to hand control of security to the Afghans themselves in 2014. But the period after 2014 is an unknown quantity, and officials in Brussels say that few nations want to donate more money until they have a better idea of what security will look like and of the state of the Afghan government, one of the world's most corrupt, according to international indicators.
“Where are we heading?” EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs asked participants at the Socialists and Democrats' conference on Afghanistan. “The strategy should be well discussed and well supported”, he told parliamentarians and experts. Piebalgs said the EU needs to implement a strategy that would improve development across Afghanistan, rather than mainly in areas where international troops are deployed. He said it should focus on three main areas: rural development, good governance and health. He underlined that all efforts should be channelled through the government in Kabul. “This will never work without government support”, he said.
Sham Bathija, a senior economic advisor to President Hamid Karzai, urged the European Union, which has provided around one billion euro to Afghanistan each year over the last eight years, to keep up its efforts. “Afghanistan is counting on the EU. We are expecting you'll be with us for a long time. Your commitment is a must for us, well beyond 2014”, he said. “We are counting on your technical know-how and your technical capacity”, he said, and underlined: “Stay engaged”. (LoC)