Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-16-Speech-3-154"
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"en.20091216.14.3-154"2
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"Madam President, Minister, High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, with this debate, the European Parliament is seeking to contribute to the discussion on the role of Europe within a region that is crucial to the safety and stability of the entire planet.
The new military strategy announced by President Obama, and even more clearly set out in the subsequent statement made by the foreign ministers of ISAF countries, has linked the sending of new troops to the primary aim of protecting the population and strengthening the capabilities of the security forces and the Afghan institutions. This welcome sea change takes into account the pointlessness, I would even go so far as to say the counterproductiveness, of a conventional type of military effort, focusing entirely on repressing Taliban guerrilla action.
However, in order to ensure that this new course is productive and sparks a transition towards a safe, prosperous, stable and therefore self-sufficient Afghanistan, it is very clear that the military dimension of the intervention by the international community must be accompanied by growing commitment on the civil and political front. On the one hand, we must promote economic development and strengthen the institutions, governance and the rule of law and, on the other, we must facilitate the process of internal reconciliation and help to stabilise the situation in Pakistan.
This is where the European Union’s place and role lies. Europe has been considerably committed in the region for some time: EUR 1 billion per year in Afghanistan, EUR 300 million in Pakistan, the EUPOL mission, which is doing an invaluable job despite its staffing problems, the international observation mission and also, naturally, the commitment of individual States to the ISAF mission.
Europe’s ability to make a substantial difference in the region nevertheless seems to be decidedly low considering the amount of human and financial resources committed. For this reason, we need to strengthen our undertaking, in other words, Europe’s leadership, and make it more consistent and effective from the viewpoint of civil strategy and political undertaking. From this point of view, the action plan constitutes an important step forward, and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament supports it and demands its firm implementation.
At the same time, we wonder whether the objectives stated in the plan also require the identification of ad hoc measures and call for thought to be given to extending the aims and reinforcing the tools of the ESDP EUPOL mission. The European Parliament is ready to offer its support to the action of the European Union on all these fronts."@en1
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