MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the negotiations on an EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development
10.6.2013 - (2013/2665(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Pino Arlacchi, Thijs Berman, Ana Gomes, María Muñiz De Urquiza, Raimon Obiols on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0274/2013
B7‑0282/2013
European Parliament resolution on the negotiations on an EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous reports and resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular its resolution of 16 December 2010 on a new strategy for Afghanistan[1], its resolution of 15 December 2011 on budgetary control of EU financial assistance to Afghanistan[2] and its resolution of 15 December 2011 on the situation of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan[3],
– having regard to the statement of May 2012 by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton,
– having regard to the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan, including Resolution 2096 of March 2013,
– having regard to the conclusions of the International Afghanistan Conferences of 2011 and 2012, including those held in Bonn in December 2011, in Chicago in May 2012, in Kabul in June 2012 and in Tokyo in July 2012,
– having regard to the statement issued by the EU Delegation to Afghanistan in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Afghanistan on 19 November 2012, concerning the execution of people sentenced to death,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the EU has been supporting the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan since 2002 and continues to be committed to peaceful transition in Afghanistan, its inclusive and sustainable development and the stability and security of the whole region;
B. whereas the provision of EU assistance from 2011 to 2013 has focused on key sectors of governance (including the police), agriculture, rural development, health and social protection;
C. whereas the EU is about to conclude negotiations on a cooperation agreement on partnership and development which will place EU-Afghanistan cooperation on a new, comprehensive level;
D. whereas the European Parliament has asked for a five-year action plan for the elimination of opium cultivation through alternative development in Afghanistan in close cooperation with the Russian Federation;
E. whereas Parliament’s resolution of December 2011 on budgetary control of EU financial assistance to Afghanistan reiterated its support for a five-year plan;
F. whereas according to UNODC the number of Afghan citizens addicted to drugs is still increasing, with a major social impact on the population;
G. whereas despite the active role being played by the EU in supporting counter-narcotics measures, significant results are very limited;
H. whereas the lack of coordination between donors to Afghanistan and the Afghan Government is undermining the effectiveness of EU contributions to Afghanistan;
I. whereas the EU has been training Afghan police forces under the EUPOL mission since 2007, and is strengthening capacity-building in Afghanistan;
J. whereas, since the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament plays a key role in giving the consent required for new cooperation agreements;
1. Reaffirms its continued support for constructing an Afghan state with stronger democratic institutions that is able to ensure respect for the rule of law and human rights, as well as strong democratic institutions, national sovereignty, state unity, territorial integrity and prosperity for the people of Afghanistan; reaffirms that Afghanistan’s peaceful future lies in the building of a stable, secure and economically sustainable state;
2. Welcomes the efforts and progress made in the last decade; reiterates, however, its concern about the security situation and ongoing violence in Afghanistan, which is resulting in threats to the local population, including women, children, national security forces and international military and civilian personnel;
3. Expects the Afghan Government to be ready to take over full responsibility after the withdrawal of international forces; calls on the EU and the Member States to enhance efforts to support capacity-building in Afghanistan by the government and its national security forces in order to create stability and security as an essential basis for development, avoiding the creation of a vacuum once the country assumes full responsibility for its own security after 2014;
4. Reiterates that its resolution on a new strategy for Afghanistan outlined a non-military strategy and focused on four main areas: international aid and coordination, the peace process, police training, and the elimination of opium cultivation through alternative development; strongly regrets that this resolution has not resulted in significant changes in the EEAS approach;
5. Supports the negotiations for the Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development and stresses that this agreement should lead to a more strategic approach and to support for the Afghan authorities both during and after the withdrawal of international forces;
6. Stresses the need for this new agreement to comprise a comprehensive approach to addressing development challenges in Afghanistan, as well as security, economic development and good governance;
7. Regrets the fact that despite the EEAS’s obligation to inform Parliament concerning all stages of the negotiations, Parliament has not been properly informed; recalls its new prerogatives in foreign affairs as stipulated in the Lisbon Treaty, and demands full cooperation from the EEAS and the Council on an issue of such major importance;
8. Calls on the Afghan Government to join the moratorium on the abolition of the death penalty;
9. Underlines the need to support the development of infrastructure in numerous sectors, including schools and hospitals; calls on the EU to step up its efforts, especially as regards access to education and to healthcare, including reproductive rights;
10. Notes that despite some progress in the field of gender equality and fundamental rights over the last decade, women in Afghanistan are still the most vulnerable segment of society and continue to be subjected to threats, intimidation and violence and to suffer from discriminatory laws; highlights the need – from both a legal and a practical perspective – to integrate women fully into society, to ensure their full participation and to achieve real empowerment of women;
11. Recalls that more than 90 % of heroin in Europe has its origin in Afghanistan and that the costs to public health in European countries run into billions of dollars; notes, however, that opium production is a key social, economic and security issue; regrets that in 2011 opium production rose by 61 % by comparison with 2010, accounting for 9 % of Afghanistan’s GDP for that year;
12. Draws attention to the findings of a recent UNODC report according to which the Taliban capture only 4 % of the annual narcotics trade, with local farmers accounting for 21 % and the remaining 75 % going to government officials, the police, local and regional brokers, and traffickers;
13. Notes that between 2009 and 2011 the US and the international community spent USD 1.1 billion on counter-narcotics measures without achieving any significant impact on production and trafficking;
14. Regrets the fact that the EU’s anti-narcotics initiative has not achieved satisfactory results so far; recalls that drug production and drug trafficking contribute to the emergence of ‘insurgents’ and fuel corruption at various levels;
15. Recalls that on several occasions Parliament has indicated a precise way forward for solving the problem, calling for the establishment of a five-year opium elimination plan with specific deadlines and benchmarks, to be implemented through a dedicated office with its own budget and staff and on the basis of cooperation between the EU, the US and the Russian Federation, the latter being the main victim of Afghan heroin and the world’s largest opium market;
16. Recalls the aim of the five-year opium elimination plan, namely to phase out opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by creating viable alternative livelihoods and prohibiting all eradication practices potentially involving the use of non-manual and non-mechanical means; calls for the inclusion of this measure in the PCA agreement;
17. Recalls the Government of Afghanistan’s undertakings made at the Kabul and Tokyo Conferences to strengthen and improve Afghanistan’s electoral process, including long-term electoral reform, in order to ensure that future elections respect international standards; welcomes the announcement of the date for the 2014 presidential and provincial council elections and the Afghan preparations for those elections; stresses the need to mobilise participation by registration in national registers of the population as well as ensuring security, especially in the southern and eastern provinces;
18. Recalls that between 2002 and the end of 2011 the EU committed a total of approximately EUR 2.5 billion in assistance to Afghanistan, including EUR 493 million in humanitarian assistance; regrets that despite the huge injections of foreign aid the impact has been limited;
19. Points out that, contrary to the widespread perception that Afghan Government corruption is responsible for the lack of provision of essential services to its citizens, the majority of resources for socio-economic development have been channelled through international organisations, regional development banks, NGOs, international contractors etc., and not through the central government;
20. Is appalled by the absence of coordination among international donors and of detailed evaluations of the impact of the international civilian and military intervention, by the lack of transparency and by the limited mechanisms for donor accountability;
21. Deplores the fact that a significant proportion of European and other international aid money is lost in the course of the distribution chain, and draws attention to the four main ways this happens: waste, excessive intermediary and security costs, overbilling and corruption;
22. Reiterates that it is crucial to coordinate EU assistance on the basis of a joint approach with international actors under a common strategy; welcomes the strategic consensus between the Government of Afghanistan and the international community on a renewed and enduring partnership for the next decade, as stated in the conclusions of the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan and the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework;
23. Calls on the Commission to ensure transparency and accountability in relation to the financial assistance provided to the Afghan Government, international organisations and local NGOs, in order to ensure the coherence of aid and the success of Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development;
24. Stresses the need for regional cooperation, which has the objective of considering Afghanistan in the context of a broader strategy for greater stability and security in the wider region; emphasises the need for enhanced cooperation with Russia, Pakistan, Central Asia, India and Iran as part of a regional framework, in order to address the challenges presented by security issues, crossborder trafficking in people and goods, and the fight against illegal drug production and trafficking;
25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Afghanistan, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
- [1] OJ C 169 E, 15.6.2012, p. 108.
- [2] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0578.
- [3] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0591.