By Filipe Rufino - 26th January 2007
The EU executive is proposing to top up aid to Afghanistan by 600 million euros.
EU foreign affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner will table the plan at an EU-Afghanistan meeting in Berlin on 29 January.
The EU has granted 3.7 billion euros to the war-torn state since the fall of the Taliban regime, the commission says.
The fresh funds are to be spent during the next three years and drawn from the EU budget.
The funds are “all civilian aid”, a commission spokeswoman said.
The package is aimed at helping Kabul to improve its clout in the provinces and accelerate reforms in the justice and health systems.
Fighting a rise in poppy production in the north and east of the country is also a priority, the Commission says.
The announcement came as US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice urged European foreign ministers to step up aid to Afghanistan at a meeting in Brussels.
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