WRITTEN QUESTION E-3021/02

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: EU aid to Afghanistan

In its Policy Brief on Afghanistan of 1 October 2002, CARE International mentions five key findings:

1. In four recent post-conflict situations, donors spent an average of USD 250 (EUR 257) per capita per annum on aid. In Afghanistan they pledged that they would spend USD 75 (EUR 77) in 2002, and over the next five years USD 42 (EUR 43) per capita.

2. Donors are slow to release funds for reconstruction. Most of the funds received have been spent on emergency aid, not reconstruction.

3. In post-conflict situations, aid grants can bring about growth and economic recovery if the volume of aid is gradually increased over time.

4. The Afghan authorities have minimal strategic control over the expenditure of aid funds for reconstruction.

5. The National Army will not be trained during the next two years. In the meantime the funds for the peace-keeping force, expenditure on which is estimated at 4 % of international funding since 7 October 2001, are insufficient.

What is the Commission's view of these five points?

What specific action can the Commission take?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(11 December 2002)

1. It is very difficult to compare post-conflict situations since a whole range of factors and specific local circumstances influence them. Consequently, the need for reconstruction aid may differ from case to case. Therefore, the amount of aid available per capita, on its own, is of limited value when judging if funds are appropriate or not. For this, Afghanistan has to be seen in the context of its high level of population, and its relatively low level of actual absorption capacity, which is decisive for meaningful and sustainable reconstruction investment. The Commission considers that Afghanistan has received very significant support from the international community.

2. More than 20 years of war and a prolonged drought, the latter still hitting parts of the country, caused a major humanitarian crisis, which still persists. Consequently, the Afghan population still requires emergency assistance. In response to this the Humanitarian Aid office (ECHO) provided EUR 73 million for humanitarian aid and another EUR 15 million has been provided in support of the World Food Programme of the United Nations. However, the Commission has a clear focus on reconstruction. Out of the EUR 277 million the Commission will provide in total in 2002, almost two-thirds will be spent on physical and institutional reconstruction. The majority of projects have been started already. A table mentioning EC assistance to Afghanistan in 2002 is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

3. Financial support is an important element to stimulate economic recovery but other forms of assistance are equally important, such as institutional capacity building as well as political and legal stability. Consequently, the reconstruction programme of the Commission is composed of different instruments aiming to address the above issues in a complementary manner so as to encourage a self sustaining recovery/development process.

4. It is evident that the Afghan authorities have so far only limited control over aid funds for reconstruction. This is very much influenced by the fact that the relevant institutions have been created only a few months ago and basic capacities are still lacking. However, the Commission supports the new governmental authorities' efforts to gain more control of aid funds. For this reason the Commission shares all information about Community funded projects with the competent Afghan authorities and implicates them more and more in the decision making process. Further to this the Commission provides assistance to create the necessary capacity to manage aid contributions.

5. The Commission has no mandate to support the national army. The international peace keeping forces (ISAF), which have a limited mandate only (Kabul and surroundings) are considered as a temporary solution to improve the security situation of the country. In the most recent security update of the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Mr L. Brahimi, it was confirmed that France and the United States have started to provide military training. However, the progress made so far towards the constitution of a national army is slow, which is very much linked to internal politics.