EU adopts new strategy on Afghanistan, notes failures

EU foreign ministers have agreed to step up aid to Afghanistan as part of a new strategy for tackling the problems faced by the embattled country.

But the ministerial report outlining the new strategy for better co-ordination and greater aid also highlights the litany of failures in the US and EU campaign so far.

"The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating," says the document adopted by the ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday (27 October).

"We are not only faced with a critical security situation. Progress on political reform, governance and state-building is too slow and in some parts of the country almost non-existent," reads the paper.

The new action plan aims to step up efforts to train Afghan officials, help create better state institutions, co-ordinate aid efforts and improve the quality of governance of the next Afghan administration.

It also envisages a gradual stepping back by the international community to allow Afghans to take greater responsibility for the running of the country, although the report says this does not amount to an "exit strategy."

"There has to be a new start," said Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The plan comes hot on the heels of an agreement by Nato defence ministers last week, broadly endorsing a new US-designed counter-insurgency strategy for Afghanistan in an effort to regain the initiative in the eight year-old war.

European countries currently have around 35,000 soldiers under Nato auspices in Afghanistan. The US has deployed roughly 65,000 soldiers, with President Barack Obama considering an increase in numbers.

Declining confidence

Mr Bildt also referred to the country's presidential elections in August which where tainted by accusations of massive vote rigging.

"What we've seen in the last few months with the presidential elections is declining confidence both internally and externally in the efforts of Afghanistan. That must be repaired," he said.

The foreign ministers promised to send EU election monitors to the second round of elections next week following the recent capitulation of sitting Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to agree to a further round.

Most of the recent fraud accusations were directed at him and his supporters, amid reports of stuffing ballot boxes with false votes.

Tuesday's EU report comes amid mounting scepticism from EU and US citizens about the realities of winning a war against a resurgent Taliban.

The EU currently spends almost €1 billion a year on political, civilian and development activities in Afghanistan, with the European Commission signaling it will spend an additional €200 million in the coming months to support the new strategy.

"I will propose to substantially increase the annual amount of Commission assistance for the next financial perspective 2011-2013", added EU commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, after the meeting.

The foreign ministers also pledged to increase the number of police officers to the EU police mission – Eupol - in Afghanistan.