Mr President, one year on we can take much satisfaction from what has been achieved by the Afghan people supported by the international community, but all this reveals the size of the mountain to be climbed. It is not going to be a quick fix for Afghanistan. It is likely that the democracies will have to maintain a commitment for many years to come. There will be reverses that will place this commitment under severe strain. We see the scale of the problem when we understand that the writ of President Karzai does not extend far beyond Kabul and a few other towns, and his personal security remains largely in foreign hands. I endorse the presidency's congratulations to the Turkish armed forces, which took over the organisation and command of ISAF from the United Kingdom last June. There is a compelling argument for the international peace-keeping force to deploy to key locations outside Kabul until the Afghan National Army is in a position to assume its responsibilities, but such forces will be highly vulnerable. The fact is that warlords continue to hold sway in many of the more remote areas, and their commitment to peaceful development and democracy is largely non-existent. They are interested in personal power and the fruits of criminal activity. They can be won over – but by anyone. Even more worrying, therefore, is the evidence of an Al-Qaida-Taliban resurgence in border areas with Pakistan, regrouping in camps on both sides of the border in alliance with local mujahedin. This is in spite of a large American-led counter-insurgency force which operates in parallel to ISAF. At the moment western military forces are operational in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia, as well as in Afghanistan. There will be fresh demands, not only in relation to Iraq, but in other places as well. The fact is that all our countries need to generate more military capability and the willingness to use it in concert with America and other allies, along with other instruments. Afghanistan's neighbours have been enormously affected by the refugee problem, but equally countries such as the United Kingdom have felt the impact. In recent years Afghans have been the largest single national category of those claiming asylum in the United Kingdom. In due course these people must go home. With this in mind I welcome the Council decision of 29 November to adopt the return action plan for Afghanistan, the first application of this programme. Finally, Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. This is a consequence of activities by the former Soviet Army and more especially by warring factions over the past ten years. In spite of massive international financial assistance, where the European Community in particular has been a major contributor, only a small proportion of anti-personnel landmines have been cleared and the casualty rate continues to be very high. Landmines and their suspected presence are one of the greatest obstacles to reconstruction and return to any sort of normality. We need to find more effective, quicker methods involving local people to overcome the scourge of landmines, not just in Afghanistan, but elsewhere as well. This is not just a question of funds, this is a specific practical area where the Commission has a key role to play and needs even more focus.

Political group: PPE-DE