The European Council on Friday adopted conclusions reaffirming the EU’s political commitment to support Afghans on their pathtowards peace security, stability, democracy, prosperity and self-reliance.
In a statement, the council said that EU will condition its future political and financial support to ensure that the republican, democratic and values-based principles are protected and further promoted.
The conclusions also reiterate the EU’s support for a negotiated political settlement leading to lasting peace and reconciliation, which “must build on the democratic and human rights achievements of the past 19 years.”
The Council called on the Taliban to build trust and confidence allowing the prompt start of intra-Afghan negotiations on the basis of the sufficient numbers of prisoners already released.
It also urged the Taliban to respect both the spirit and letter of their agreement with the United States signed in Doha on 29 February 2020, as it condemned deadly attack on a hospital in Kabul earlier this month.
The statement called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefireto focus efforts on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and to save lives on all sides.
“All political actors in Afghanistan should contribute to mitigate the fallout of the COVID-19pandemic, and cooperate to create an overall context to tackle it.”
The statement said that the EU stands ready to provide political and financial support for the people of Afghanistan by:
(1) supporting the Geneva Ministerial Pledging Conference
(2) strengthening EU assistance for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic
(3) using all instruments available in full cooperation and complementarity with the UN, NATO and regional partners, to contribute to the stabilisation of the country
(4) supporting institutional reform and capacity-building, including in the sectors of security and defence, based on the principles of democratic governance and on human rights
(5) assisting with the reintegration of former fighters as well as their families, the victims of conflict and the most vulnerable, including through specialised child protection programmes
(6) Promoting regional cooperation, stability, peace, trade and sustainable connectivity in line with “Connecting Europe and Asia – Building blocks for an EU Strategy” as adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council in October 2018
