Rapporti verbatim tad-dibattiti

L-Erbgħa, 12 ta' Ġunju 2013 - Strasburgu

20. Ftehim ta' sħubija u kooperazzjoni mal-Afganistan (dibattitu)

  Presidente. − L'ordine del giorno reca la discussione sulla dichiarazione del vicepresidente della Commissione/alto rappresentante dell'Unione per gli affari esteri e la politica di sicurezza sull'accordo di partenariato e cooperazione con l'Afghanistan.

  Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, I am addressing you on behalf of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton.

Afghanistan is at an important crossroads and faces a crucial transition in its history. We shall soon see a full transfer of responsibility for security to Afghanistan, and, at the same time, the withdrawal of ISAF. There is certainly an increased capability on the part of the Afghan National Security Forces in responding to attacks mounted by the insurgency. The most recent proof of this is what happened on Monday morning at Kabul airport. However, we have every reason to continue to be concerned by the overall security situation in Afghanistan. The indiscriminate attacks on Afghan civilians and the specific targeting of international aid organisations by insurgent groups have become a major problem.

Politically, many – both in Afghanistan and in the international community – will look at the presidential elections as a critical benchmark. We have called on the Afghan authorities to continue to prioritise preparations for the elections. In particular, it is important to put in place an electoral legal framework consistent with the Constitution, accompanied by credible measures to prevent fraud which are overseen by independent bodies.

The EU is assisting with the preparations for the elections by providing technical advice to the Independent Election Commission and as one of the major founders of the ELECT 2 Electoral Assistance Programme, which is led by UNDP.

We will continue to engage fully with the process, and we will consider the case for an EU Electoral Observation Mission in the coming months. Economically, Afghanistan will face severe economic contraction if it is unable to renew investor confidence and reverse the capital flight of recent years. As in many other fragile and conflict-affected states, reforming governance plays a central role, in particular the fight against corruption and organised crime and the reform of the judiciary.

Transparent public finances, especially after the Kabul Bank disaster, must be an important element in this. In this regard, the European Union is fully committed to supporting state-building and long-term development in Afghanistan.

In order to establish the appropriate cooperation framework for the years to come, a cooperation agreement is needed. The EU-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD) should also help to establish sustainable structures and institutions.

It is a clear sign that we are now ready to deal with Afghanistan as an important bilateral partner. In July 2011, the Foreign Affairs Council expressed ‘its willingness to negotiate an ambitious and balanced EU-Afghanistan agreement’. Since then, we have been negotiating a draft text which should eventually become our first contractual relationship with Afghanistan.

It is important that such an agreement reflects the principles and conditions on which the future partnership will be based. The envisaged CAPD is intended to set out the principles and conditions underpinning the agreement and the provisions for political dialogue. It will incorporate a broad range of areas for cooperation, including on development, trade and investment, and justice and the rule of law. There will also be chapters on a number of specific areas for sectoral cooperation.

The Afghan side should fully appreciate that the agreement underpins our commitment to Afghanistan’s future development during the decade of transformation agreed at the Bonn Conference, and indeed beyond.

Taking the form of a ten-year cooperation agreement with a commitment to partnership and to political dialogue, the CAPD is clearly not a preferential agreement and that in many ways the level of obligation will be the same as with other partners who are better able to meet a high level of mutual commitment.

However, it will integrate the outcomes agreed at the international conferences in Bonn, Chicago, Kabul and in Tokyo, including the conditionalities agreed at the most recent of these.

The agreement should reiterate the willingness of the parties to address new common concerns, such as the fight against terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, international crime, counter-narcotics and the mitigation of climate change. All of these issues can only be successfully tackled through concerted joint efforts by Afghanistan and the international community as a whole.

While keeping this in the Council’s mandate, efforts have been made to take account of the proposals of Member States and technical experts. The same goes for positions previously expressed by the European Parliament, in particular, on the monitoring of Millennium Development Goals, the dialogue on organised crime and counter-narcotics, and cooperation between the parliaments.

So what have been the problematic issues? The Afghan side has been pressing the European Union for firmer financial commitments, and, in particular, commitments on funding for infrastructure. There are limits to what we can commit to in such an agreement. Although we have accommodated Afghan requests as far as we are able, we have to take care to ensure that the CAPD will not be turned into a programming document.

Another outstanding point concerns the status of the Delegation in Kabul and of its staff, including the security personnel. Some Afghan authorities have tended to treat the EU delegation as the ‘office’ of an international organisation, not as an embassy – which is not acceptable. We will use the Agreement to ensure that our diplomatic status is placed beyond all doubt.

Finally, I understand that some concern has been expressed regarding cooperation with the EU on matters such as the International Criminal Court. However, Afghanistan is party to the Rome Statute, and the Agreement should reiterate that we expect Afghanistan's international obligations to be observed.

Following the last round of negotiations in November, drafting suggestions were presented to the Afghan interlocutors just before Christmas. I understand that the Afghan Foreign Ministry presented a text to the Cabinet and the National Security Council in early 2013. However, no official communications or textual suggestions have been received this year.

The EUSR and the Delegation have repeatedly raised this issue at all levels, including with the President himself. We have also made clear our concern at the delay to the Afghan Mission to the EU. We are now considering whether to include a reference to the issue in the June Foreign Affairs Council conclusions. In the interim period, the Afghan Government has concluded a number of more specific and much shorter agreements with some of our Member States.

As you can see, the way ahead to get the CAPD in place will be long and difficult but the EU will continue to respect its commitment to Afghanistan. We remain confident that the CAPD will provide a framework for our dialogue and cooperation in the years to come.

  Elisabeth Jeggle, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Vielen Dank, Herr Kommissar! Ja, aktuell verhandelt der EAD federführend für die EU ein Kooperationsabkommen für Partnerschaft und Entwicklung mit Afghanistan.

Laut den Informationen, die ich vom EAD jederzeit und in konstruktiver Weise erhielt, sind die Verhandlungen sehr weit fortgeschritten. Ich möchte die Wichtigkeit eines umfassenden und langfristig angelegten Abkommens unterstreichen.

Mit dem Abkommen werden die notwendigen Rahmenbedingungen für politische und wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit geschaffen. Afghanistan soll dadurch im begonnenen Übergangsprozess weiterhin unterstützt werden. Gemeinsam mit unseren afghanischen Partnern muss ein funktionsfähiger und friedlicher Staat mit dem Ziel starker demokratischer Institutionen geschaffen werden.

Auch dem Aufbau einer sich selbst tragenden Wirtschaft kommt eine entscheidende Rolle zu. Derzeit wird die afghanische Wirtschaft zu sehr großen Teilen von ausländischen Geldern im Zusammenhang mit der Präsenz der internationalen Gemeinschaft getragen. Wir müssen Afghanistan befähigen, eine eigene diversifizierte Wirtschaft aufzubauen. Die Hauptvoraussetzung dafür ist, dass die Korruption bekämpft wird. Viele Bedingungen, Herr Kommissar, haben Sie genannt. Ich sage noch: Die Abhängigkeit vom Mohnanbau muss reduziert werden, und hier müssen die afghanischen Landwirte eine wirkliche, eine alternative Einkommensquelle bekommen.

Ein mit den unterschiedlichen Ethnien versöhntes, friedliches und stabiles Afghanistan ist im Interesse der gesamten Region. Unsere Maßnahmen müssen somit in enger Koordination mit den Nachbarstaaten rund um Afghanistan erarbeitet und umgesetzt werden.

Eine Schlüsselfunktion spielt hier der Heart of Asia-Prozess. Die EVP setzt sich für einen raschen Abschluss der Verhandlungen ein und ersucht nachdrücklich sowohl den EAD als auch die afghanische Regierung, die Verhandlungen ohne Verzögerungen zu einem positiven Ende zu bringen.

  Pino Arlacchi, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, I am the rapporteur for the EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement. We asked for its addition at this point on the agenda because, despite the obligation to inform Parliament at all stages of the negotiation, we have not been properly informed. On several occasions, together with the shadow rapporteurs, we indicated the priorities we would like to see included in the agreement but unfortunately we have not received any significant feedback.

Our requests are well-known. They are supported by the majority of this Parliament and are included in reports and resolutions approved by this House since 2010. The first concern we raised about the negotiations for the agreement was about the quality of international aid and the efficiency of its delivery chain. Between 2002 and the end of 2011, the EU alone committed a total of EUR 2.5 billion in civilian assistance to Afghanistan, but the impact of this has been extremely limited. We pointed out that 70-80 % of the aid channelled through international organisations and NGOs never reached the Afghan population.

Our second point of concern, which we reiterated, was our wish to see the creation of a five-year opium elimination plan through alternative development, a plan to be implemented through a dedicated office with its own budget and staff and on the basis of close cooperation between the EU and the Russian Federation, whose population has become a major victim of Afghan heroin. Such a plan is very urgent, because the huge amount of international money used for counter-narcotics measures in Afghanistan has had no significant impact on production and trafficking.

To conclude, I hope that the EAS will now finally include our concerns in the agreement under negotiation.

  Anneli Jäätteenmäki, ALDE-ryhmän puolesta. – Arvoisa puhemies, Afganistaniin on kansainvälisen yhteisön toimesta luotu järjestelmä, joka maksaa miljardeja vuodessa ja jota afganistanilaiset eivät pysty omin voimin ylläpitämään vuosikymmeniin. Mitä EU-rahoilla on saatu aikaan? Tämä on tärkeä kysymys. Sitä ei tiedetä, koska Afganistanin hallinto ei ole niin kehittynyttä, että EU:n rahavirrat pystyttäisiin selvittämään, mutta sitä ei pysty EU itsekään selvittämään. Afganistan on yksi maailman korruptoiduimmista valtioista, ja viimeisen kolmen vuoden aikana korruptio on vain lisääntynyt siellä, ei suinkaan vähentynyt.

ALDE-ryhmä vaatii johdollani, että EU:n tilintarkastustuomioistuin laatii raportin EU:n Afganistanille antamasta taloudellisesta tuesta, sen läpinäkyvyydestä ja tuloksista. Olen iloinen, että tämä on saanut tukea muilta ryhmiltä. Tällaisen raportin aika on juuri nyt, kun Afganistan ja EU ovat solmimassa uutta yhteistyösopimusta.

Jotta rahalla olisi selvät vaikutukset, EU:n täytyy toki tietää, mitä se rahalla saa aikaan. Sitä vaatii myös se, että kansalaiset, ne veronmaksajat, jotka EU:ta rahoittavat, haluavat toki tietää myös, mitä rahalla saa. Jotta tuki olisi tehokasta, täytyy EU:n itsekin tietää, mikä menee perille ja mikä ei mene perille. Ja se mikä ei mene perille, se tukimuoto täytyy lopettaa.

  Eva Joly, au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, chers collègues, je rentre d'Afghanistan, où je me rends régulièrement depuis un an. Ce que je vois et entends sur place fait naître en moi des sentiments d'indignation et de révolte. L'intervention des forces alliées a participé à enfoncer l'Afghanistan dans une corruption généralisée. L'afflux massif de fonds n'a pas permis le développement de ce pays ravagé par des années de conflit et dépourvu de structures économiques et administratives solides.

L'Union européenne voudrait signer un accord de coopération et continuer d'envoyer des fonds sans tirer, au préalable, les conclusions de cet échec, ni chercher à savoir si les fonds ont été utilisés à bon escient et s'ils ont eu des effets positifs sur la population afghane, qui continue à manquer de tout, de l'accès à l'éducation aux soins de base. Et que dire de l'absence d'accompagnement des milliers de victimes de guerre?

Arrêtons le politiquement correct! Les Afghans méritent mieux que cette politique de développement empreinte de mauvaise conscience. Non, des fonds supplémentaires ne compenseront pas le gâchis d'une mauvaise guerre. Mal gérés, mal distribués, ils continueront à conforter certains membres de l'élite afghane qui, eux, ont largement profité de cette manne financière, alors que la population doit, quant à elle, s'accommoder de la corruption généralisée en plus de devoir lutter pour sa survie.

Nous ne pouvons évidemment pas abandonner l'Afghanistan. Nous devons mener des politiques d'aide et de développement en matière de santé, d'éducation, d'agriculture et d'autonomisation des femmes, comme avant 2001, mais pas aveuglément, pas sans avoir, au préalable, tiré les leçons de notre échec. Nous devons, à l'avenir, vérifier que l'aide européenne n'alimente pas la corruption et profite véritablement aux populations. L'avenir de l'Afghanistan est à ce prix.

  Willy Meyer, en nombre del Grupo GUE/NGL. – Señora Presidenta, comparto la intervención que ha hecho el señor Arlacchi en el sentido de que esta Cámara tiene que estar informada de forma periódica y puntual de las negociaciones bilaterales entre Afganistán y la Unión Europea a través del Servicio Europeo de Acción Exterior. Es, por lo tanto, una demanda a la que hay que dar respuesta.

En mi Grupo, en relación con las negociaciones, lo que queremos es dejar muy claro el tremendo fracaso que supuso la operación militar desde cualquier punto de vista –desde el de la seguridad militar o el de la propia seguridad política. Porque estamos ante un balance trágico: después de doce años de guerra, Afganistán ha quedado devastado, más corrupto y más talibanizado, todo lo contrario de lo que se quería resolver con una guerra que no debería haberse producido nunca, que no es ni fue la solución, pues la guerra no debe ser la solución nunca.

Por lo tanto, nosotros vamos a insistir en que, en el caso de que se avance en las negociaciones, quede muy claro lo que supuso este tremendo error: la guerra en Afganistán.

  Arnaud Danjean (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, à l'heure où on ne parle que de départ d'Afghanistan, de retrait d'Afghanistan, où tout le monde s'essaie à des bilans pour savoir si ce qui se passe depuis maintenant douze ans est un échec, pas un échec, un semi-échec ou un échec total, je crois qu'il serait davantage à l'honneur de l'Union européenne de regarder vers l'avant et de s'interroger sur le type de partenariat qu'il convient de nouer avec l'Afghanistan. Parce qu'il faut rester en Afghanistan. Il faut continuer à aider les Afghans. Il faut continuer et, surtout, ne pas répéter l'erreur que nous avons faite dans les années 90 quand nous avons laissé ce pays trop vite à son sort et que nous avons, ensuite, été contraints d'y revenir dans des conditions qui étaient, sans doute, les pires possibles.

Ce que nous devons faire pour l'Afghanistan, c'est bien sûr travailler sur la gouvernance. Ce sera l'enjeu des prochaines années. La sécurité sera, bien sûr, un des éléments de cette gouvernance et, de ce point de vue, permettez-moi d'inclure dans le partenariat, qui doit être signé, la mission EUPOL que nous avons déployée au titre de la politique de sécurité et de défense commune. Une mission qu'il conviendra d'évaluer, sans doute un peu plus finement, en retirer les acquis, et voir comment nous pouvons la redéployer, d'une part géographiquement, sans doute, parce qu'il faut être au plus près des besoins des Afghans, y compris en province, et d'autre part au niveau des institutions également, parce que la police seulement ne pourrait être le cœur de cible de cette mission.

Je crois qu'il faut voir plus fort et plus large en termes d'institution building, mais notre présence en Afghanistan est tout à fait indispensable à l'avenir.

  Thijs Berman (S&D). - Madam President, I salute the commitment of the Vice-President/High Representative and our Commissioner for Development, and I strongly share their vision. But after thousands of soldiers have been killed, after hundred of billions of euros have been spent in Afghanistan – more than in any developing country – many donors in the international community want to leave as fast as possible. This is understandable, but also wrong.

In 2014, the few clear results reached in the country will still be very fragile. Girls going to school, and an administration – albeit one plagued by corruption – that is gradually improving its functioning, are improvements that can erode very quickly if we stop investing in development and in governance, as my colleague Mr Danjean has just said, and if we stop training the army and the police force.

The first victims will be women, and already violence against women is on the rise again, after a decade of improvements. We have to continue and strengthen our presence with the EUPOL training mission, as the police still lack the skills to act properly when women are confronted with violence, most often domestic violence. Taliban insurgents are spreading fear, and children are now asking their mothers to stop working in order to stay alive.

The Afghan Constitution needs to be respected in the peace negotiations. Such is the wish of the vast majority of the Afghans. Therefore, we, the EU, will need to continue our efforts, as Commissioner Piebalgs has just said, for many years to come.

  Carlo Fidanza (PPE). - Signora Presidente, Signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, oggi indosso questa cravatta color cremisi, in onore e in ricordo del capitano Giuseppe La Rosa, del terzo reggimento bersaglieri dell'esercito italiano, l'ultimo militare italiano caduto in Afghanistan, nella provincia di Farah.

L'arrivo della bella stagione e l'avvicinarsi del ritiro definitivo della coalizione militare internazionale a fine 2014, ha portato nelle ultime settimane a una intensificazione degli attacchi di insurgens e talebani, a Kabul come nelle province. Vogliono dimostrare che non c'è alternativa all’instabilità oggi e al ritorno del regime domani.

Lo sforzo compiuto nell'addestramento dell'esercito e delle forze di polizia, grazie alla missione Eupol, l'impegno per la creazione di una magistratura locale indipendente, le ingenti risorse europee stanziate in programmi di cooperazione, tutto questo deve trovare una sempre più concreta finalizzazione. Sostenere il processo democratico, consolidare una struttura statuale forte, realizzare le condizioni per lo sviluppo economico, sradicare corruzione e criminalità, debellare la piaga della coltivazione di oppio, sono le chiavi per vincere la sfida afghana.

Per tutte queste ragioni dobbiamo andare avanti, e quindi auspico una rapida chiusura del negoziato sull'accordo di cooperazione. Lo dobbiamo al capitano La Rosa e a tutti i nostri caduti, ai soldati impiegati nella missione Isaf, agli operatori civili e sanitari impegnati sul campo, a tutti gli europei che credono nella definitiva transizione verso un Afghanistan stabile e pacificato.

  Krzysztof Lisek (PPE). - Pani Przewodnicząca! Wielu z nas i wielu obserwatorów, wielu publicystów uważa, że ten moment, kiedy musimy wysłać żołnierzy na wojnę z terrorystami, jest najtrudniejszy. Rzeczywiście towarzyszą temu dramatyczne chwile, towarzyszą smutne chwile, kiedy giną nasi przyjaciele, giną nasi żołnierze. Ale przed nami dzisiaj jeszcze jedno, być może jeszcze poważniejsze wyzwanie, może nie tak dramatyczne, ale równie poważne – to jest wyzwanie dotyczące udzielenia pomocy całemu krajowi, który musi zbudować państwo, jego struktury, który musi dalej dbać i walczyć o bezpieczeństwo swoich obywateli, który musi budować struktury gospodarcze, który musi mieć z czego żyć, musi mieć jak istnieć w nowoczesnym świecie. I w tym wszystkim my jako Unia Europejska możemy być pomocni. Spełniliśmy swoje zadanie, czy spełniamy nadal swoje zadanie w sensie militarnym, ale dzisiaj będziemy musieli pomóc budować struktury państwa. Pomoc finansowa, pomoc organizacyjna, pomoc szkoleniowa Unii Europejskiej będzie na pewno bezcenna i niezastąpiona. Dlatego z radością witam umowę o partnerstwie i współpracy między Unią Europejską i Afganistanem. Potrzebna będzie pomoc zarówno instytucji europejskich, jak i wszystkich państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej.

  Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, I will be brief, because it is rather late.

First, I believe everybody agrees that it is important to conclude this framework agreement as swiftly as possible. The High Representative assures you that you will receive regular updates on the state of play of the negotiations as soon as there are any developments to report. As I said, at this stage we are waiting for some response from our Afghan partners.

I also very much support the opinion you have expressed that we should not lose the focus on state-building and long-term development in Afghanistan, and neither the Member States nor DEVCO intend to do so: quite the opposite. We would like – if we have the budgetary authority’s support – to increase support to the Afghan people. It is also wrong to perceive that we have lost money. We have evaluation reports, we have fiduciary controls from the Court of Auditors, and I can assure you that we have not lost money to corruption. We have also achieved some decent results. For example, there has been substantial progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, the starting point was very low.

It is now also crucial that the Mutual Accountability Framework which was accepted by the Government of Afghanistan must be implemented. I believe that, in new situations, far stronger donor coordination is needed; all our principal EU investors in development countries, like the UK and Germany, will definitely rethink their approach, because the current approach is very much related to the provinces where the troops are placed. As we would like to support a viable Afghan state, we will need a rather different level of engagement and we should adopt a very coordinated approach from day one.

Afghanistan is a very proud country; I believe that, even given its current difficulties, we should be able to see light at the end of the tunnel. Many people’s livelihoods have been changed. I recently chaired a panel in Afghanistan. What is happening in Afghanistan is controversial but there are definitely positive grounds for hoping that things will improve. There will be difficult periods ahead of us, but we should not lose the courage to support the Afghan people.

  Presidente. − Comunico di aver ricevuto sei proposte di risoluzione⁽¹⁾ a norma dell'articolo 115, paragrafo 5, del regolamento.

La discussione è chiusa.

La votazione si svolgerà domani, giovedì 13 giugno, alle 12.00.

Dichiarazioni scritte (articolo 149)

  Elena Băsescu (PPE), în scris. – Afganistanul este situat într-o regiune critică din perspectiva securității internationale. De aceea vreau să salut și eu progresele în negocierile privind un acord de parteneriat și cooperare între Uniune și Afganistan. Finalizarea negocierilor și semnarea acordului vor oferi un cadru consolidat de cooperare politică și economică pentru următorul deceniu. Principalele sectoare pe care va trebui să se axeze acordul sunt dezvoltarea, comerțul și buna guvernanță. România participă cu trupe combatante în Afganistan, având unul dintre cele mai numeroase contingente. De aceea este și în interesul țării mele ca Afganistanul să se stabilizeze, iar după perioada de tranziție instituțiile afgane să fie pe deplin funcționale. În acest context, este binevenită decizia de extindere a misiunii EU - POL până la finalul anului 2014.

(1) Vedasi processo verbale.