EU to double aid to DRC
2006-12-04 22:13
Brussels - The European Commission proposed on Monday to double European Union (EU) development aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support reconstruction of the country following recent elections.
EU development commissioner Louis Michel said he wants the bloc's member states to agree to double the aid budget for the DRC in the years 2008 to 2013. EU aid to DRC amounted to $267m in 2002-2007.
An initial €33m in EU cash will be used to strengthen governance and the institutions in the DRC, said the commission.
Following last month's presidential elections, the EU wants to "invest heavily in reconstructing the state, its capabilities and services, so that the Congolese people could reap the benefits of reconciliation and democracy", said the commission.
The EU commission has been the main donor providing funding for the electoral process in the DRC since 2001, paying some €165m of the €397m in total cost.
Michel also said the EU would continue to support Congo's government in ensuring security in the country.
EU criticised for pulling out
"After more than 40 years of dictatorship and war, the DRC now has a president elected by direct universal suffrage, a modern constitution that has been ratified by an overwhelming majority, and a democratic parliament representing all of its citizens," said the commission.
President Joseph Kabila was last week confirmed the winner of the election in the DRC, which observers hailed as conforming to international norms.
The polls were meant to draw to a definitive close a bloody period of the country's history, which saw an estimated four million people die in a 1998-2003 civil war that became a regional conflict drawing in at least five other countries.
Germany last week began withdrawing its troops from the DRC after four months helping to secure the country's historic elections.
The troops were part of an EU force that arrived in DRC ahead of the elections in July, which was sent to prop up the 2 000 Union Nations peacekeepers in Kinshasa, a stronghold of Kabila's challenger, Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Tensions remain high in the capital as Congolese await their newly-elected president to be sworn in on December 10.
Conflict analysts have criticised the EU mission for pulling out before the full culmination of the election process.
- SAPA