On Tuesday 27 March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini proposed help from the EU for Afghanistan should there be peace negotiations.
"We can offer support if President Ghani's proposal leads to peace negotiations, and to a peace agreement", she announced at the opening of the Tashkent conference on Afghanistan ('Peace process, security cooperation and regional connectivity') before underlining "the EU's resolve to accompany a peace process with all our tools – from economic support to our diplomatic power, from our political support to our technical expertise". Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani made a peace offer to the Taliban in February which was "daring and concrete" and "supported unreservedly" by the EU, according to Mogherini (see EUROPE 11972). The high representative called on the combatants to accept the offer: "Choose the path of dialogue and reconciliation. Have the courage for peace", she said.
Mogherini gave concrete examples of help. "On the diplomatic side, we could provide our support to de-list from the UN sanctions list those who denounce violence and opt for peace", she said. "We could also work with the people who permanently lay down their arms, or with former inmates, or with their families (...) so that they can find a new place in the Afghan society", she added. The EU could also engage more with Afghan civil society and with victims in order to support justice and reconciliation and expand its support for initiatives such as the High Peace Council.
"The EU will be on your side", Mogherini stated. The EU already supports implementation of the peace agreement agreed with Hezb-e-Islami.
Furthermore, a ministerial conference on Afghanistan, organised by the UN, will take place in Geneva in November. According to Mogherini, this conference will be an "important opportunity to assess progress made by the Afghan government and international community in the economic and political reforms to which they committed at the Brussels conference on Afghanistan" in October 2016 (see EUROPE 11639). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)