Brussels, 30/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Union confirmed its political support to peace efforts in Colombia, during the conference of the 3rd meeting of the "support group" for the peace process. The conference was held on 30 April, in Brussels, under the aegis of the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Commission. The EU announced that its total aid to Colombia amounts to some EUR 350 million, including aid of EUR 140 million over six years from the European Commission and contributions worth 230 million from Member States over three years.
- At political level, the main message from this meeting is to call on all groups to remain committed to the peace process, stressed European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten in his speech. Concerned about the prospects for peace after national elections in Colombia in May 2002, the EU called on Colombians to transform the process launched by the Pastrana government in 1999 into a "Colombian State process", said Gun-Britt Andersson, Swedish Secretary of State for Cooperation, on behalf of the EU Council Presidency. She mainly called on the common front for peace created in October by Colombian parties to support this objective, and stressed that, according to the EU, the negotiating process must include all Colombian players, and above all the civil society.
After the progress achieved in negotiations which led to the Los Pozos agreement, in February, with the main guerrilla group, the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC), and a partial agreement with the National Liberation Army (ELN), "we recently noted an unfortunate slowdown in the process", remarked the Swedish Secretary of State, who called on the FARC to take "concrete initiatives to demonstrate its real commitment to the peace process". Chris Patten stressed for his part that "we encourage the ELN in particular, with which so much progress has been made, to return to the negotiating table".
Condemning the violence committed on all sides, "not only by the paramilitary groups but also by the guerrilla groups", Gun-Britt Andersson hoped that Colombia would reach an agreement on respect of international humanitarian law. She called for resolute prosecution of "terrorists and paramilitary criminals". "We are particularly concerned by paramilitary activities; the Colombian government must intensify its efforts on this subject," declared Chris Patten. "The European Union has reiterated its appeal to all groups detaining hostages, including the ELN and FARC, to release them immediatelyd put an end to this practice," Ms. Andersson added.
In line with the Summit of the Americas held in Quebec last week, the conference of the support group "today confirmed the international backing for the reconciliation process launched by the Colombian State", Colombian Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez de Soto tolsd the press. It is a question of "an unprecedented process" which is an opportunity "that needs seizing as it may not come again".
The Colombian minister placed emphasis on the principle of co-responsibility" between drug consumer and drug producer countries in the fight against coca farming and drug trafficking. "There is a close link between violence and the world drug problem. The solution does not depend on one country alone, but on the co-responsibility of the international community", he told the press. "The EU is determined to continue to condemn and combat, on the basis of shared responsibility, the production of and trafficking in drugs", the Swedish minister told the press. Whereas President Pastrana recently regretted in an interview that the "EU does not see the drug issue as their issues", Minister Soto considered that the statements by Mr. Patten at the conference "were fairly clear and coincided with our intentions". "The EU is giving the example in this field" he assured the press, citing tariff preferences aimed at encouraging alternative crops to coca and the agreement over the control of chemical substances, "precursors to drugs".
- Financially, the EU said that its aid would amount to 350 million euro in all. These contributions do not contain new aid (contrary to what EUROPE announced), but an inventory of bilateral aid or to United Nations organisations announced so far, thus: the Commission will provide 105 million euro in long-term aid for the period 2001-2006 and 35 million in non-programmable aid, as announced at the last conference of the support group; Spain: 105 million euro (two-thirds in the form of loans); the Netherlands: 24 million euro; Sweden: 22.8 million; France: 20 million; Germany: 20 million; Italy 16.9 million euro (two third in the form of a loan); Belgium: 11 million euro; the United Kingdom: 7.8 million; Finland: 2.5 million euro; Denmark: 0.7 million euro (through United Nations organisations and NGOs); Ireland: 0.2 million euro.
European aid will be earmarked to support he peace process, strengthen the protection of human rights and finding solutions to replace the drugs as a source of revenue, the Swedish Minister said. Several Member States have allocated part of their aid to environmental protection.
The European Commission should release the first payment of 43 million euro by the end of the year, said Chris Patten. It will focus on four fields of activity, said the Commissioner: 1) the setting up of projects in the region of Magdelena Medio, in the centre of Colombia, which will be a "peace laboratory" intended to be extended, "later, but certainly, to the south of Colombia". "Our aim is tpo support on the ground the implementation of the agreements, bolster local institutions, back civilians engaged in promoting peace and encourage social and economic development in the region", the Commissioner explained, calling on the parties to ensure the safety of the people engaged in these projects.;2 ) respect of human rights, notably through the EU/Andean Community human rights programme and backing the activities of human rights organisations. "We shall at the same time analyze the idea of an initiative for a voluntary handing over of light weapons to combat urban violence in Bogota", the Commissioner declared; 3) elimination o the State's structural weaknesses, notably through projects concerning the administration of justice, the promotion of an integrated reform of farming and an environmental planning policy; 4) combating the social impact of the conflict, notably by tackling problems linked to the displacement of the populations, the education of children involved in the conflict, as well as encouraging the manual and voluntary eradication of the coca farming. "Our aim is to offer top those whose revenue comes from growing drugs an alternative that constitutes a model of sustainable development and that may contribute to improving their living condition", the Commissioner commented.
Chris Patten assured at the conference that he hoped that "Colombia's eligibility and that of the Andean region to the general preferences scheme will be rapidly expanded". The system of preferences, which has enabled Andean countries since 1990 to receive preferential customs duties, in the framework of the fight against the drug culture, should expire at the end of this year, but could be renewed until 2004 in the framework of the "multi-annual scheme of generalised preferences". The United States also having to decide by the end of the year on maintaining its own preferential tariff for the Andean countries, this subject being one of the priorities of the countries of the region.
Demonstrations against "Colombia Plan"
Some thirty people demonstrated against the Colombia Plan in front of the conference centre where the meeting of the support group was being held and in front of the European Commission, in Brussels on Monday. Carrying the slogan "not one euro for genocide policy", about twenty small Belgian, Colombian, Spanish and Dutch NGOs called for priority dismantling of paramilitary groups, for the fight against impunity and for respect of the native populations. The general secretaries of the European Trade Union Confederation, Emilio Gabaglio, and of the ICFTU, Bill Jordan, wrote for their part to Commissioner Patten and to High Representative Javier Solana in order to protest against the "exclusion of the Colombian and international trade union movement" from the conference.