EU: Togo must set election date
2006-09-04 22:16
Brussels - Togo must quickly set a date for elections to convince the European Union to unfreeze its aid, said the bloc's top aid official on Monday.
The EU froze most aid to Togo in 1993, citing the poor democratic record of then President Gnassingbe Eyadema, and has made a formal political dialogue between the government and the opposition a condition of any resumption.
Togo's politicians agreed last month to form a national unity government under a deal paving the way for parliamentary polls.
EU aid commissioner Louis Michel praised the move, saying on Monday that the EU was now close to unfreezing aid for Togo.
"We are really very close to the possibility of signing the ninth EU development fund (with Togo)," Michel told reporters, saying the EU had set aside €41.6m (about R385m) for Togo.
No objection
But one last condition is to set a date for the polls, Michel said after meeting Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe.
"I cannot unfreeze (aid) as long as this condition is not fulfilled," he said.
EU states would also need to agree to the aid, but Michel said there would be no objection if the date for the election was set.
Michel stressed that € 20.8m (about R192m) set aside for 2005 would be lost if EU states did not unfreeze it by the end of October.
The deal struck by Togo politicians in August aims to end a long standoff which came to a head last year in bloody riots in which hundreds of people were reported killed.