News

EUOBSERVER/BRUSSELS - The EU's new envoy to Afghanistan, Lithuanian diplomat Vygaudas Usackas, has said he aims to demonstrate that new member states are up to handling the bloc's top overseas postings.

"This appointment will be closely followed in Brussels. I feel an additional responsibility to prove to some hesitant colleagues in the EU community that the new member states can carry a heavy weight," he told EUobserver in a phone interview on Tuesday (23 February).

"By taking such a high profile job in one of the hotspots in terms of global security, I can show that a small country such as Lithuania can be a responsible international player."

Mr Usackas, a 45-year-old father of two, will in April leave behind his family to go to Kabul, where he will take charge of around 80 staff as the EU Special Representative to Afghanistan and the head of the EU delegation in the Afghan capital.

The move will see him become the second ever person from a new EU member state to lead one of the EU's 136 foreign missions, six years after the 2004 round of enlargement. The first was by a Hungarian diplomat in Norway. But the Afghanistan job is of a different magnitude.

Afghanistan is a theatre of war for over 110,000 foreign troops including armed forces from 25 EU states. Lithuania itself has around 200 soldiers on the ground. But unlike in Lithuania, where public opinion supports the war, other EU countries are starting to pull out.

It is also a huge recipient of EU aid, with around €8 billion pumped in by the European Commission and member states over the past eight years, and hosts one of the union's fastest-growing police missions.

Mr Usackas' job will be to advise President Hamid Karzai on the conduct of parliamentary elections in autumn, to help build Afghan government structures in pacified territories, oversee the influx of aid and speak on behalf of the EU.

"Of course, it's Nato and the US who are the main players in terms of security, but the EU also has unique capabilities in the area of soft security," he said.

"It's going to be up to the Afghan government to reach out to all parts of the country. I support the reconciliation and inclusion of all members of Afghan society who are ready to give up violence and armed conflict, and that may include moderate Taliban members."

The new EU envoy warned that Nato-caused civilian deaths, such as the incident in Uruzgan last Sunday which saw 27 casualties, are generating opposition to the international presence both inside Afghanistan and in Europe.

"In the EU people are becoming tired of this continuous engagement. It's of critical importance to address this issue, to emphasise again and again the indivisibility of European security from Afghan security and stability, not just in terms of terrorism, but also in terms of the war on drugs," he said.

Mr Usackas earlier this month himself faced media allegations of helping to cover up a secret CIA prison in his time as Lithuania's foreign minister.

He rejected the allegations as "utterly groundless" and said they did not come up in his interviews with top EU officials for the new posting. Mr Usackas also promised to blow the whistle if he discovers any abuses in Afghanistan by the EU or US side: "From a personal point of view, and as a citizen of the EU, I would never tolerate violation of human rights," he told this website.

By Andrew Rettman