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News Releases
No. 80/07
July 02, 2007
ROME CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN: EUROPEAN COMMISSION CONFIRMS COMMITMENT OF 200 MILLION EUROS FOR RULE OF LAW
 The Commissioner for
External Relations,
Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, will attend the Conference on the Rule
of law in
Afghanistan tomorrow in Rome. The Conference
aims to get high level political commitment by the
government of Afghanistan and the international
community to the rule of law sector. Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner
will present her plans for the next four years, with a
package worth 200 million euros for the rule of law
sector for 2007−2010. The European Commission remains
one of the top donors in Afghanistan and one of the very
few giving a multi-year commitment. In all, the EC has
announced 610 million euros for Afghanistan for the
period 2007−10.
"Afghanistan's problems cannot be solved without
stronger governance and respect for the rule of law,"
said Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. "All our efforts to
date will come to nothing unless we can establish a
functioning rule of law in Afghanistan. People have to
have the confidence and trust that the justice and
police services serve them. With this new package we are
demonstrating our continuing commitment to help
Afghanistan build a more secure and prosperous future.
The key challenges are to extend the government's
authority into the provinces, and to stamp out narcotics
production which destabilizes the country politically
and economically. That is why our new package will put a
special focus on strengthening the rule of law and in
particular on reform of the justice sector. Boosting the
professionalism of the key legal institutions will
complement the European Union's work with the Afghan
police – helping to improve law enforcement at all
levels."
The conference will adopt an action plan for the justice
sector, identifying gaps and issues to be addressed by
different donors and a future funding mechanism for the
sector will be agreed upon. The EC package will focus on
three key priority areas: institutional reform in the
justice sector, focusing on recruitment and pay and
grading systems; support to judicial sector salaries;
and funding of the Law and Order Trust Fund (LOTFA),
which pays for police salaries.
As the largest donor to the Law and Order Trust Fund for
Afghanistan (135 million euros since 2002), the European
Commission has already made a major contribution to
supporting the salaries and training needs of the Afghan
police, and this work will continue under the new
package. A further 75 million euros for LOTFA is planned
for the next two years.
The European Commission now intends to launch a new
program of support to the justice sector. The European
Commission will place experts in key justice
institutions (Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court and the
Attorney General's office) to draw up a major program of
reforms in the judiciary and legal services in
Afghanistan. The aim will be to improve the
qualifications, recruitment, and career structure for
judges and prosecutors and to introduce a code of
ethics.
European Commission initiatives in this field complement
the
ESDP
(European Security & Defense Policy)
mission on policing, which is now on the ground
in Afghanistan.
In addition to these activities in the justice sector,
the European Commission's new package will also support
capacity building in local and regional administration,
with a view to increasing the focus on the rule of law
in the provinces.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita
Ferrero-Waldner's July 3, 2007 Speech.
For further information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/afghanistan/intro/index.htm
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Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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