On Thursday 27 May, the EU’s new Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Tomas Niklasson, said that the EU would remain engaged in the country after the withdrawal of foreign troops.
“It is necessary to remain committed. It is necessary not to change our objectives, but to adapt our position to the changing circumstances,” he told MEPs. By ‘adapting our position’, Mr Niklasson was referring to the protection of EU staff.
“Our priorities for the coming months and beyond are to ensure the safety of our personnel, long-term security conditions for our continued diplomatic presence, and to continue delivering aid to the population,” he explained, adding that the EU was engaged in intensive consultations with its partners, including the US, NATO and the UN, on security.
Mr Niklasson said he did not share the pessimistic views of some MEPs that no progress had been made in Afghanistan. “We have made progress on the subject of women’s rights - that is not a marginal thing. There has been a positive development and we want to maintain this situation”, he explained.
And while the level of violence remains extremely high, the Special Envoy encouraged all parties to put in place concrete steps to finally achieve a ceasefire and to launch “genuine and substantive peace talks”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)