COMMENTARY
What Europe needs is a real strategy on Afghanistan
Autumn 2008
I am not as pessimistic as Fabrice Pothier when he says that our policymakers are losing the battle for European hearts and minds on Afghanistan. The European and North American pledges on Afghanistan were reinforced in April at the NATO summit in Bucharest. As to the EU, the European Commission and the member states have been responsible for a third of all the reconstruction assistance there, which makes them the second largest donor in Afghanistan behind the US. Of the EU’s 27 member states, 25 are contributing to the NATO-led ISAF mission, and the international community’s efforts to establish a functioning and sustainable Afghan state would appear stronger than ever.
But our aim of creating an enduring, stable, secure and prosperous Afghanistan which fully respects human rights and the rule of law, requires tenacity, perseverance and, above all, solidarity. Afghanistan is undoubtedly a long-term commitment for the Westerns community. And although we have seen indications of improvements in a number of different fields, the major challenges remain. In other words, we must sustain and strengthen the pace and the extent of our progress. I have to agree, of course, that there are with Fabrice Pothier even signs of weakening public support in certain EU countries for the Western involvement in Afghanistan. Our failure to explain to the citizens the rationale for our presence in Afghanistan is the main reason for that. And even though in our globalised world distances have deeply shrunk, Afghanistan is in the perception of European citizens still very far away. Other priorities closer to home seem more urgent. In Afghanistan’s case, geography is proving more powerful than geopolitics.
At the same time, we have to realise that the six-year long military presence in Afghanistan and the prospect of our engagement lasting further there has significantly eroded public support and has tired European citizens and politicians too. We should also analyse this declining public support in the current broader context of increased euroscepticism. The failure of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty has once more brought into the public debate the questions that still hang over the future of Europe – where is the European Union heading? Where are its borders going to be? Are we ready for a simple voice in foreign and security policy?
Nevertheless, abandoning Afghanistan is simply not possible. What European policymakers need is a fresh long-term strategy on Afghanistan, based on a comprehensive approach to security, stronger national commitments and full cooperation among all parties involved. This strategy should be accompanied by an effective communications policy, so that EU citizens become more aware of the reasons for seeing their tax money invested in a consolidation of the Afghan state. Public opinion has not completely understood that Afghanistan is the gateway to Europe for terrorism, organised crime and drugs. In terms of challenges to our common security, Afghanistan has never been that close to us as it is today.