Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-04-Speech-3-115"
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"en.20020904.4.3-115"2
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"Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, following on from this morning’s debate, it is encouraging to be able to read in the telegrams from Johannesburg that the President-in-Office of the Council, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, held a meeting this morning in Johannesburg at which it was established that the United States would consult its allies about Iraq and that the US agreed with the EU about firstly trying to get Iraq to give international weapons inspectors free and unfettered access to the country.
The Afghanistan debate covers two matters: the current issue of the alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and the longer term question of the situation itself in that troubled country. With regard to the alleged war crimes, we must now await the outcome of the UN investigation. If the investigation shows that war crimes have been committed, the people responsible must be found and prosecuted in accordance with the current regulations. There is really nothing more to be said about that matter at present.
It has been very encouraging to hear the President-in-Office of the Council and the Commissioner report now on developments in Afghanistan less than a year after the country lay in ruins. We can be pleased with the Bonn process and proud of the aid provided by the EU to that poverty-stricken country. We have in fact heard today about an EU success story in rebuilding a country, and we should thank the Commission in particular for its persistent efforts. We also know that we are only in the first phase, that there is a long way to go and that the new administration, or transitional government, is subject to both external and internal threats. Although much reduced in size, al-Qa’ida is still an external threat from hiding places in the regions bordering Afghanistan. Internally, the fact that warlords clearly continue to operate, are still behind the cultivation of opium poppies and are in a position to threaten the stability of Afghanistan is necessarily a source of concern. It is a threat to the country’s integrity and to Mr Karzai’s government, which is the best guarantee of a peaceful process of development involving the implementation of those values we cherish. We must therefore continue to maintain a close dialogue with the transitional government, as well as engage in close dialogue with any government resulting from the 2004 elections. Prompt and effective efforts on the part of the EU must be followed up by long-term efforts. The fact that the EU has just launched the ‘Water for Life’ initiative is commendably in line with what we have previously heard in this Chamber. Unlike almost all crops, opium poppies do not require much water. So let the EU supply water to Afghanistan, show responsibility and contribute to a more peaceful world."@en1
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