MEP Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France), on Friday 10 January, castigated the continued EU funding of a road project in Eritrea, a country which continues to subject the majority of its population to unlimited national service, both civil and military, including working for state construction companies.
The Commission has recently released the second tranche of €60 million for this project (compared to €20 million in 2018) from the Africa Emergency Trust Fund.
"It is unacceptable that EU-funded projects are linked to forced labour in Eritrea," the MEP said in a statement. Michèle Rivasi, who had sent a written question on 4 November and an oral question on 28 November, is not satisfied with the e-mail reply that the current Commission has sent her.
"According to the Commission, the European Union cannot be held responsible for condoning human rights violations because it does not directly manage the project. It has entrusted its implementation to the UN agency UNOPS and European funding is limited to the purchase of construction materials and equipment needed to rehabilitate the roads", says Ms Rivasi. Relying on the UN office to ensure that basic standards and guarantees are met, including on working conditions, is, in her view, "an unacceptable blank cheque". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)