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Congo-Kinshasa: Kinshasa - EU Ambassadors Celebrate Europe Day
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United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Eoin Young
In a prelude to Europe Day which is celebrated on 9 May every year, European Union (EU) ambassadors and officials held a press conference in Kinshasa on 8 May 2008. During the conference they explained the role and activities of the EU in the reconstruction of the DRC.
French ambassador Mr. Bernard Prévost explained that the EU was represented in the DRC by ambassadors from 12 member states, the European Comission, the EU Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Roeland Van De Geer and its two missions of EUSEC and EUPOL.
Ambassador Prevost explained that the EU's cooperation with the DRC "goes back a long way."
"As well as bilateral cooperation led by each embassy since their installation here, EU cooperation with the DRC goes back to 1959 when it was included in the first European Development Funds. In 2007, the EU gave $750 million dollars to the DRC."
He added that the EU expects to donate a similar figure to the DRC in 2008, with a further $600 million dollars allocated specifically for reconstruction assistance in eastern DRC.
When questioned on the nature of the EU's assistance to the upcoming DRC local elections, Ambassador Prévost explained that it was "under discussion" with the Congolese authorities.
The EU supports the DRC through eight main avenues of assistance in the fields of: security with the EUSEC and EUPOL missions, economy and natural resources, education, governance and justice, infrastructure, media, health and finally humanitarian assistance.
EUSEC and EUPOL are the missions with the mandate of assisting in the reform of the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) and the Congolese National Police (PNC) respectively. These two technical missions aim to improve the administrational structures and technical skills of the FARDC and PNC, as part of the DRC's Security Sector Reform.
Germany administers the EU's economy and natural resources programme, where the focus is on aiding the authorities with illegal exportation, especially in the east, as well as providing micro-finance for small and medium size companies and traders.
The EU's support to education in the DRC is administered by Belgium, where school materials are provided to needy pupils and schools, and school rehabilitation is carried out. The EU also aims to assist in improving the quality of education in the DRC, as well as improving it's management capacity.
Sweden administers the EU's assistance to governance and justice, where support for the fight against sexual violence and respect for human rights are a priority, especially in eastern DRC.
Support to the DRC's infrastructure is administered by the EU Commission, and their support is linked to the DRC president's five reconstruction pillars of water, electricity, education, health, employment and infrastructure.
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The EU's support to the media is administered by the United Kingdom, where the focus is on supporting the emergence of a strong, professional and independent media to support democracy and good governance.
Spain and Italy administers the EU's support to health in the DRC, where the strategy is one of reinforcement, improvement and development of the health services.
The EU's humanitarian assistance in the DRC is administered by the EU Commission. In collaboration with UNICEF and UNHCR, the EU is engaged in the fight against malnutrition and preventable illnesses such as malaria and cholera, especially in eastern DRC.
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| Copyright © 2008 United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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