Brussels, 25/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - During a plenary debate at the European Parliament, on Wednesday 23 May, the Danish secretary of state for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, who was speaking on behalf of Catherine Ashton, said that, despite the positive signal given by the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution (see EUROPE 10609), relations between Sudan and South Sudan remain a cause for concern. There is a roadmap, which must be respected, and border controls must be allowed. Also, support to the rebels must end, and the needs of the people living in uncertainty and poverty must be taken into account. The EU, which has already made considerable aid available for the region, remains committed to the idea of there being two viable states, Wammen said. Those two states have three months in which to meet their obligations, failing which sanctions against them may be envisaged.
The humanitarian crisis is the main problem for Gay Mitchell (EPP, Ireland). These countries do not have a tradition of “good government”, and they must now be helped to lay the foundations for governance. Mitchell wondered why, in the past, one did not think of helping Sudan to take advantage of and better manage its oil wealth. The oil sector is now entirely in Chinese hands, was the bitter statement by Véronique De Keyser of Belgium, speaking on behalf of the S&D Group. She added that the problem of sharing out the oil was not resolved before the country was divided and “we are now feeling the full brunt of it”. Pointing to the Union's balanced position in the region, De Keyser expressed the wish for the EU's role to be more visible. Charles Goerens (ALDE, Luxembourg) felt that, with separation, the problem has changed dimension, becoming international, and international law must therefore provide the solution. The work done by African institutions is beginning to prove beneficial, he asserted, saying that, in 2010, the Union was right to back African efforts to take its destiny in hand but that “it is not enough to have a state - one must know how to manage it”. Judith Sargentini of the Netherlands (Greens/EFA) took the view that there is a choice to be made between war and the welfare of the population. She fears that things will drag on and that there will be a situation comparable to that of Eritrea and Ethiopia, caught up in a conflict that continues to rise to the surface at regular intervals. The Union must not hesitate to impose sanctions, said Adam Bielan (ECR, Poland), and must help the refugees. In the meantime, “the arms trade is booming”, with China, Russia and Belarus to the fore among suppliers. The true problems of Sudan are, according to Bastian Belder (EFD Group, Netherlands), the “irresponsible behaviour of incompetent leaders”, cessation of oil production, nepotism and corruption. There is no war over oil, Sabine Lösing (GUE/NGL, Germany) stressed, inviting the Union to play its role of mediator in the strictest neutrality, in a concern to prevent the same thing happening again. (LG/transl.jl)