Brussels, 26/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Over the month of November, the EU is expected formally to commit to support reforms in the security sector in Afghanistan for the period to follow 2014. This, at least, is the opinion expressed by Vygaudas Usackas, special representative of the EU for Afghanistan, who, having presented the Political and Security Committee (COPS) on Tuesday 25 October with a report on the various ways to step up European action in Afghanistan, held a press conference in Brussels.
It is therefore likely that the EU will take the opportunity of the international conference of Bonn on 5 December to present a “mandate for ambitious and balanced cooperation agreement with Afghanistan”, but also to determine the “principles and conditions which will determine the basis of this bilateral cooperation”, said the EU's representative in Afghanistan. In this, COPS held a discussion on the European police mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL). Over the last six months, the European mission has trained “more than 1,700 Afghan police officers, 300 instructors, 200 public prosecutors, 30 lawyers and 20 judges” and therefore becomes one of the greatest successes in civil operations in Afghanistan, said Usackas. EUPOL's mandate is currently valid until 31 May 2013, but the Afghan authorities have already expressed their wishes for the mission to continue beyond 2014, during last week's visit of the deputy secretary general of the European diplomatic service (EEAS), Maciej Popowski, to Kabul. This request will be analysed by COPS to decide on a response. (JK/transl.fl)