EU could resume direct aid to Palestinians Top EU figures have signalled that they are to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority. Last year the Union decided to suspend direct aid following the victory of Hamas in parliamentary elections. But now that Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh has been replaced as prime minister by Salam Fayyad, the Union is reconsidering its position. Javier Solana, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, said on 18 June that “part of the [Union’s] money will be direct”, without specifying the exact amount. Solana stated that the aid could be paid into an account established by Fayyad, when he was finance minister in a previous administration led by Hamas’ rivals Fatah. The relief organisation Oxfam last week complained that the EU’s freeze on direct aid has led to increased debt burdens among Palestinians. According to a survey conducted by Oxfam of 2,500 households in the Palestinian territories, one out of every 15 families has run up a debt exceeding $25,000 – nearly three times the annual salary of a teacher. Some 68 percent of families in Gaza and 53 percent in the West Bank have reported that their debts – typically for water, electricity and food – have risen in the past year. Oxfam attributes the debt hike in part to the EU’s decision to cease giving aid to Palestinian institutions. Although the Union has rerouted its aid through a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), proposed by the European Commission, this has had a severe impact on the payment of salaries to over 160,000 public sector employees. Wages have either been paid late or not been paid at all in the case of some police and security staff. Michael Bailey, an Oxfam spokesman on humanitarian affairs, said that the boycott of a Hamas-led government by the EU, U.S., United Nations and Russia has resulted in a two-third drop in the Palestinian Authority’s income and has helped double the number of people living on less than 50 cents a day to more than 1 million. Whereas the Authority previously had a $1.5 billion annual budget, this has now shrunk to $500 million.
Stronger links between emergency and long-term aid promised The European Commission has promised a “joined-up approach” between emergency relief and longer-term development aid in a new publication. Outlining plans for a ‘European consensus on humanitarian aid’ on 13 June, the Commission recommended that a number of pilot projects should be identified for ensuring a smooth transition from an initial response to a calamity and assistance over a longer period. According to the Commission, the challenges for humanitarian aid are increasing, as a result of such factors as global warming and the changing nature of conflict. It recommends that the two central tenets of an EU humanitarian policy should be that such aid should be delivered independently of any parties to a conflict and that it must be provided rapidly on the basis of assessed needs. If approved by the EU’s governments, the consensus will be the Union’s first policy document on humanitarian aid since a 1996 regulation on this subject. The European Commission has been allocated a humanitarian aid budget of €722 million this year, with the possibility of drawing from a reserve worth a further €200 million.
Poles threaten to veto EU treaty deal Tough talking on the future of the EU constitution is expected at a summit in Brussels later this week (21-22 June). Diplomatic efforts ahead of the meeting are focusing on Poland, where the government is threatening to veto any deal on the voting system applying at the Council of Ministers that is not to their satisfaction. Jarsolaw Kaczynski, the Polish premier, has said that it is “worth dying” to prevent a system currently included in the Constitution that would double Germany’s voting power in the Council. He is instead proposing the allocation of voting rights according to a mathematical formula more favourable to Poland, which currently has around the same voting weight as Germany, even though it is half its size. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping that the summit will agree to call an intergovernmental conference to identify changes to the existing treaties instead of the proposed constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. The aim is to reach agreement on what parts of the constitution can be included in a revised package to satisfy all Member States. They also want to minimise the need for further referenda as much as possible. Meanwhile, an opinion poll commissioned by The Financial Times has found widespread support in some of the larger EU states for putting a new treaty to a referendum. The poll found that 64-75% of respondents in Spain, Germany, Britain, Italy and France believe a new treaty would be important enough to warrant a referendum. Additionally, in the final days of negotiations before the summit, it is reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been suggesting that outgoing UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, could be the first permanent President of the Council. This would be a role expected to be established with the next set of treaty amendments. According to the Financial Times “the president would have few formal powers, but would give the EU strategic leadership and represent the bloc on the world stage on issues such as climate change, bilateral relations and development in conjunction with the new foreign minister”.
EU ‘silent’ on rights abuses in Pakistan A leading conflict prevention organisation, the International Crisis Group, has urged EU foreign ministers to speak out about human rights abuses in Pakistan. Alain Délétroz from the International Crisis Group, an organisation working on conflict prevention, says that the Union has also been “silent” on human rights abuses in Pakistan following the dismissal of Chief Justice Ifikhar Mohammad Chaudry in March. He complains that Pakistan has been viewed by EU policy-makers as a security matter, given its proximity to Afghanistan and allegations that Al Qaeda and Taliban members are active on Pakistani soil. As a result, the Union has tended to leave deliberations over how Pakistan should be handled to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which also has its headquarters in Brussels. Délétroz is calling on EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 18-19 June to condemn the crackdown on dissent by Pakistani authorities. This has included the mass arrest earlier this month of political activists protesting new legislation giving the country’s military ruler President Pervez Musharraf a greater say in regulating the media. Délétroz also believes that the Union should closely monitor general elections due later this year. “It is time for the EU to raise its voice,” he said. “If it doesn’t do anything, it will look ridiculous.” Choudry was removed from his position by Musharraf for alleged misuse of his authority. This sparked fierce protests from lawyers who insist that Musharraf did not have the power under the national constitution to sack a judge in this way. Among the subsequent events that have destabilised Pakistan there was the killing of 50 people, when armed party workers loyal to the Islamabad government block Choudry’s arrival in Karachi on 12 May to address a demonstration called by barristers.
EU team to monitor Timorese poll Spanish centre-right MEP Javier Pomés-Ruiz is to head an EU team observing parliamentary elections in East Timor. Comprising seven core members and 28 observers, the team will monitor the June 30 poll in the fledgling state, which only won independence from Indonesia in 2002. The elections follow the 2006 clashes between rival military factions, which left 30 dead and thousands displaced. Some 14 parties are contesting the election, and pundits say the most likely outcome is that the Congresio Nacional de Reconstrução de Timor-Leste (CNRT) of former president Xanana Gusmao will form a coalition with smaller parties. East Timor has been recognised by the United Nations as one of the world’s poorest countries. Its gross national income per capita is only $600, while about half of its population is unemployed.
Roberto Bissio Executive Director of Third World Institute in Montevideo and Coordinator of Social Watch
"So how do I see Europe? My generation was raised seeing it as History with a capital H. Maybe not “dead history” like that of “Orient and Greece”, but still of the past. I see it as a place as puzzled as us about very much the same dilemmas."
