Brussels, 17/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Wednesday, the EU and Afghanistan signed a joint declaration committing to a new EU-Afghan Partnership, setting out shared challenges and areas where both sides can work more closely together to make Afghanistan 'a secure, stable, free, prosperous and democratic' country. 'Both parties wish to see Afghanistan play a full and active role in the international community and are committed to building a prosperous future free from the threats of terrorism, extremism and organised crime,' explains the preamble to the statement, signed by the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and Jack Straw, Javier Solana and Benita Ferrero-Waldner for the EU. The EU and its Member States already play a leading role in helping Afghanistan rebuild, pledging a total of around EUR 3.1 bn in aid from 2002 until 2006, not to mention the important troop commitments by Member States to international forces in Afghanistan, like the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the US-led Coalition Operation 'Enduring Freedom'. A new international conference on Afghanistan will be held in London in early 2006. The EU is prepared to increase aid to Afghanistan over and above the process launched with the Bonn Agreement of December 2001 'wherever possible' states the document.
In practice, the new UE/Afghanistan Partnership will focus on the following domains: 1) Political and Economic Governance. The aim here is to extend the political achievements of the Bonn Agreement. The EU will continue to help Afghanistan build strong and accountable institutions at national and provincial level free from corruption, which promote the rule of law and ensure democratic oversight. The EU will help Afghanistan reform its civil service and build a 'credible, predictable and transparent legal and regulatory system which encourages inward investment' and a legitimate private sector open to domestic and foreign business; 2) Security and Justice. The EU Member States 'shall continue their substantial role in supplying military and civilian resources to the NATO-led ISAF… and US-led …Enduring Freedom… until such time as the Afghan security and armed forces are sufficiently constituted and operational. The EU will increase its aid to the justice sector, and 'in this context the pace of reform in the justice sector shall be hastened'. The EU will continue to support Afghanistan's disarmament; 3) Counter-narcotics. The EU will increase aid to support the counter-narcotics campaign, since 'drug cultivation, production and trafficking continue to represent a significant threat to Afghanistan's security and development'; 4) Development. Both sides will continue working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. 'The EU recognises the leadership role which must be played by the Afghan government' but aims 'to improve the coordination of international cooperation'; 5) Human Rights, Civil Society and Refugee Return. Afghanistan 'is committed to safeguarding freedoms under the Constitution, to developing a pluralistic and democratic society, and ensuring respect for human rights' and pledges to 'promote the participation of women'. The EU will work closely with Afghanistan and neighbouring countries to facilitate the right conditions inside Afghanistan for the voluntary return of refugees; 6) Education and Culture; and 7) Regular Political Dialogue, with regular meetings at ministerial level.