Brussels, 16/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Union is preparing for the ministerial Donor Conference for the rebuilding of Afghanistan that will take place in Tokyo on 21/22 January 2002. The Donor Conference has itself been prepared by a steering committee of donor countries that met in Brussels at a meeting organised by the European Commission and the Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in December in order to identify priority areas for rapid impact projects (see EUROPE of 21 December, p.14, and 28 December, p.5). The Donor Conference itself should lead to financial pledges by the donor countries for meeting priority needs. It will also discuss the work required in order to prepare for a more in-depth assessment of requirements in the near future.
A preliminary assessment of needs carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, that was sent on Tuesday to the entire international community, sets a figure of $15 billion (EUR 13.3 bn) as being necessary in the next ten years, a little over EUR 11 billion of which would be needed in the next five years (not counting humanitarian aid). The European Commission was the first to make a concrete pledge, when it signed an agreement on 20 December to pay EUR 2.5 million on behalf of the EU into the United Nations fund for the short-term support of the interim Afghan government. The European Commission had now outlined an amibtious strategy (endorsed on Tuesday by the College of Commissioners) for the EU's contribution to the internationl reconstruction effort.
A spokesperson for Chris Patten, External Relations Commissioner, told journalists on Wednesday that liaison was taking place between the Commission, the Spanish Presidency and the Budget Authority with a view to deciding what approach should be taken at the upcoming Donor Conference.
The Commission wants to send a strong political message to the interim Afghan government and the Afghan people as long as all parties respond positively to the process and to objectives laid out in the inter-Afghan agreements signed in Bonn on 5 December. The Presidency of the Council of Ministers noted that the EU aid was conditional on all the groups representing the Afghan people abiding by the letter and the spirit of the Petersberg agreement concerning the setting up of a new broad-based, multi-ethnic and fully representative government that will commit itself to promoting equal opportunities for men and women and improving conditions for women.
The Commission wants to ensure that the Community contribution (by which it means EU and Member States' contributions together) is co-ordinated as a single contribution and is seen as such. The Commission feels it is important to guarantee that EU aid is fully coherent with aid supplied by Member States and is closely co-ordinated with aid from other international donors.
The Commission believes the EU should provide at least a quarter of the total aid supplied by the international community, ie EUR 2.5 billion over five years (EUR 500 million a year on average from 2002-2006). The Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) will be continuing their discussion on Thursday on how much of this aid is to be provided by the EU and how much by the Member States. EUROPE understands that the Commission is working on the basis of a Community contribution of EUR 1 billion (EUR 200 million a year) with the remaining being covered by Member States. In the 2002 budget, the EU earmarked nearly EUR 200 million for aid to rebuilding the region in question.
In a letter to Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, the President of the European Parliament's Budget Committee, Terry Wynn, said that "most" of his Committee's coordinators were prepared to commit EUR 1 bn to the Community budget in the 2002-2006 period as long as this aid did not jeopardise the credibility of the EU's foreign policy with regard to other areas of the planet. He said that the high amount of aid earmarked for Afghanistan in 2002 had been made possible in terms of the budget as a result of exceptional circumstances (cut in spending on Fisheries Agreements with third countries, some money transferred from the 2001 budget earmarked for aid to the Balkans and a cut in humanitarian aid in general). He said it would be difficult to do this in future years, particularly in 2003 when the budget for 2004 would have to be set.
According to the first report assessing needs (to be discussed in Tokyo), the short-term priorities should be access to health care, education (particularly for girls), minesweeping operations so that adults can return to work and refugees can return, controlling drugs, getting women involved in the rebuilding process, the economy in general and the decision-making process.