Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 January, the EU warned that its support to Afghanistan after 2014 is dependent on the signature of the bilateral security agreement (BSA) between the Afghan authorities and the US, even though its lines were finalised back at the end of November. The consequences of not signing this “vital” agreement - to use the term in the Council conclusions - would be: - no US military presence from 1 January 2015; - no new NATO mission; - no funding for the Afghan national security forces (ANSF); - possible end of European EUPOL Afghanistan mission; - cut in development aid.
In conclusions adopted by the Council, it is quite unusual to find references to bilateral relations between third countries, said a European diplomat. However, just this once the EU's foreign affairs ministers - who met on Monday 20 January - wanted to stress the importance of the BSA for the EU. They noted that the EU “remains firmly committed to long-term partnership with Afghanistan”. This involvement is nevertheless today conditional upon this surprise request. In 2013 it seemed inconceivable that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai might not want to sign a bilateral security agreement with the US - although the US provides the guarantee of foreign troops on the ground after the ISAF international coalition mandate ends (December 2014) and ensures continued funding for the ANSF.
However, it is the worst case scenario which is now unfurling. Despite US pressure, the Afghan government is reluctant to sign it and speaks about the elections in April 2014 as an appropriate time to do this - dependent upon a few adjustments to its content, which Washington refuses to make, expecting signature in the coming weeks. For the EU, Afghanistan is playing a dangerous game. The EU ministers have illustrated the potential damaging effects - only the finalisation of the BSA is a guarantee of security in Afghanistan after 2014, as “the continued provision of significant international development assistance to the Afghan people across the country is dependent on a conducive security environment”.
Attacks in Kabul. On Friday 17 January, an attack took place in a restaurant in Kabul, claiming the lives of 21 people - 13 of them foreigners. Among the victims were two members (of Danish and British nationality) of the EU mission for training the Afghan police force (EUPOL Afghanistan), a senior member (of Russian nationality) of the UN political mission in Afghanistan (Unama), the representative of the IMF in Afghanistan, and two members of Unicef. A paragraph of the Council conclusions was given over to this attack - with the EU's foreign affairs ministers wanting to pay tribute to the victims. (JK/transl.fl)