Brussels, 02/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 30 April, the EU special representative for Central Asia, Patricia Flor, stressed the importance that the EU gives to Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzistan). “Central Asia can seem like a remote region but it is full of promise and opportunity (…) It is an important region for us (…) the possibility for cooperation is vast”, she said at a conference at the European Institute of International Relations. “It's a crossroads - a point between Asia and Europe, a complex region with many challenges”, she added, saying that with its Russian and Chinese neighbours, the EU can “balance” the situation and “play a role” because it is considered “neutral”. Although the EU has been slow to take an interest in these countries, with a strategy that dates from 2007, it is nevertheless ready to engage in the long term, in Flor's opinion.
The political adviser from Uzbekistan's mission to NATO, Gayrat Fazilov, said that “the EU plays an important role for a safer, more prosperous and developed Central Asia”, and that his country wants to strengthen its cooperation in all areas of common interest.
Focus on security. While the main goal of the EU is to build a regional alliance between the countries, the EU also has personal interests. “The region has a lot to offer the EU”, said Flor, speaking of energy resources, infrastructure, transport opportunities, a young population and a growing economy. The stability and security of the region and the fight against common threats (including terrorism, fundamentalism and drugs trafficking) are also important for Europe. The EU also wants to develop its cooperation in these areas with the establishment of a high-level dialogue on security - the first annual meeting of which will take place in Brussels in June. “The objective is to come to an agreement on tangible cooperation projects”, Flor stated.
Afghanistan and the departure of troops from the country also poses a question. Although, in Fazilov's view, “the situation remains unstable and difficult to predict, nobody has trust in the situation improving, and there is a real risk in the region - the risk of a situation out of control”, in Flor's view, “even if it can't be denied that there are risks and threats, action must be taken together so as to avoid them”. Like Sülün Aykurt Buchwalter from NATO, Flor said that the departure of forces does not mean a departure of the EU and NATO. These are organisations that are cooperating in the region so as to avoid duplication and hence wastage of funds.
Like her colleague from the European External Action Service, Pierre Borgoltz, Flor stated that the idea is that the member states and the EU share their experience and their good practice with their partners from Central Asia. She wanted the European Parliament and civil society to be more engaged in the region, so that it might “be not only a dialogue between governments” (our translation throughout). Flor and Borgoltz reiterated the importance of the rule of law and human rights. (CG/transl.fl)