EU adopts new strategy to strengthen state institutions in Afghanistan
EU adopts new strategy to strengthen state institutions in Afghanistan
16:06, November 05, 2009 
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The European Union adopted a new strategy last week recommending steps to improve situation in Afghanistan through non-military means.
The new strategy was adopted at the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on October 27 with the objective "to better coordinate help to rebuild Afghanistan."
According to the plan, the European organization will reinforce efforts to train Afghan officials and help to create effective state institutions, besides better coordinating aid efforts and seeking good governance by the new Afghan administration.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU External Relations Commissioner, told reporters before the meeting that the 27-country bloc would offer new aid to Afghanistan.
"We will indeed increase substantially our assistance to Afghanistan and also to Pakistan according to this new strategy. But it's a little too early to give you official figures," she told reporters before the meeting.
The new EU strategy comes in the wake of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 23, which backed U.S.-NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal's demand for increased training for Afghan troops. However, it did not say whether it backed his call for a big increase in foreign troop numbers.
The NATO ministers also approved a new plan, which called for placing the Afghan population at the core of NATO-ISAF's collective effort; an enhanced effort to build the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces; to work more closely and effectively with our international and Afghan partners to promote better governance, and to engage effectively with Afghanistan's neighbors, particularly Pakistan.
Observers attach great significance to the new policy review by NATO and the European Union, which come at a time when U.S. President Barrack Obama is in the final stage of devising a new strategy for Afghanistan, where NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal has called for additional international forces to curb the mounting Taliban insurgency.
Last month, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the mission in Afghanistan was not the sole responsibility of the United States and other international forces should also play their role in the country.
The EU foreign ministers announced that the organization would increase aid to Afghanistan but warned that the situation in the country is deteriorating while reforms were almost non-existent in some areas.
It is worth recalling that EU and its member states provide Afghanistan with nearly 1 billion Euros (about 1.50 billion U.S. dollars) in civilian aid a year. Of this, 140 million Euros are being provided by the European Commission, the EU's executive organ.
Media quoted EU Officials in Luxembourg as reporting that the new strategy was aimed to build a network of experts from EU states who could be deployed at short notice to Afghanistan and to ensure full deployment of officers for a police training mission which has fallen behind schedule.
They said EU also backs an international conference on Afghanistan to discuss political and economic issues. And the United Nations has proposed holding such a summit in Afghanistan early next year.
After attending the meeting, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said: "There has to be a new start. There has to be a dedicated, credible reform strategy by the Afghan authorities."
"The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. We are not only faced with a critical security situation. Progress on political reform, governance and state-building is too slow and in some parts of the country almost non-existent," he said.
Commenting on McChrystal's plan, Bildt said: "The McChrystal report is very clear. The military security efforts are critical to success in Afghanistan, but without success in the political civilian efforts they are going to come to nothing whatsoever."
Political analysts say the NATO and EU ministerial meetings' decisions will go a long way in facilitating President Obama in redesigning his country's strategy on Afghanistan.
However, a final NATO decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan - likely to come sometime this month - will play a more decisive role in this connection.
Source: Xinhua
The new strategy was adopted at the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on October 27 with the objective "to better coordinate help to rebuild Afghanistan."
According to the plan, the European organization will reinforce efforts to train Afghan officials and help to create effective state institutions, besides better coordinating aid efforts and seeking good governance by the new Afghan administration.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU External Relations Commissioner, told reporters before the meeting that the 27-country bloc would offer new aid to Afghanistan.
"We will indeed increase substantially our assistance to Afghanistan and also to Pakistan according to this new strategy. But it's a little too early to give you official figures," she told reporters before the meeting.
The new EU strategy comes in the wake of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 23, which backed U.S.-NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal's demand for increased training for Afghan troops. However, it did not say whether it backed his call for a big increase in foreign troop numbers.
The NATO ministers also approved a new plan, which called for placing the Afghan population at the core of NATO-ISAF's collective effort; an enhanced effort to build the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces; to work more closely and effectively with our international and Afghan partners to promote better governance, and to engage effectively with Afghanistan's neighbors, particularly Pakistan.
Observers attach great significance to the new policy review by NATO and the European Union, which come at a time when U.S. President Barrack Obama is in the final stage of devising a new strategy for Afghanistan, where NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal has called for additional international forces to curb the mounting Taliban insurgency.
Last month, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the mission in Afghanistan was not the sole responsibility of the United States and other international forces should also play their role in the country.
The EU foreign ministers announced that the organization would increase aid to Afghanistan but warned that the situation in the country is deteriorating while reforms were almost non-existent in some areas.
It is worth recalling that EU and its member states provide Afghanistan with nearly 1 billion Euros (about 1.50 billion U.S. dollars) in civilian aid a year. Of this, 140 million Euros are being provided by the European Commission, the EU's executive organ.
Media quoted EU Officials in Luxembourg as reporting that the new strategy was aimed to build a network of experts from EU states who could be deployed at short notice to Afghanistan and to ensure full deployment of officers for a police training mission which has fallen behind schedule.
They said EU also backs an international conference on Afghanistan to discuss political and economic issues. And the United Nations has proposed holding such a summit in Afghanistan early next year.
After attending the meeting, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said: "There has to be a new start. There has to be a dedicated, credible reform strategy by the Afghan authorities."
"The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. We are not only faced with a critical security situation. Progress on political reform, governance and state-building is too slow and in some parts of the country almost non-existent," he said.
Commenting on McChrystal's plan, Bildt said: "The McChrystal report is very clear. The military security efforts are critical to success in Afghanistan, but without success in the political civilian efforts they are going to come to nothing whatsoever."
Political analysts say the NATO and EU ministerial meetings' decisions will go a long way in facilitating President Obama in redesigning his country's strategy on Afghanistan.
However, a final NATO decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan - likely to come sometime this month - will play a more decisive role in this connection.
Source: Xinhua
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