Full cooperation with Mauritania resumes with a € 66 M road project

The European Commission has allocated over € 66 million to the road project Kaedi-M'Bout-Selibaby-Gouraye in Mauritania, aiming at improving the living conditions of populations in the south of the country. The approval of this financing proposal follows the decision on 29^th of May 2006 to fully resume EU aid in response to the progress by the Mauritanian authorities in implementing their commitments with democracy and the rule of law. These funds add to the € 13,6 M already allocated to Mauritania in support to political reforms undertaken by the new authorities following the coup d'etat of 3 August 2005.

The European Commission's decision to allocate € 66 M to a road project connecting Kaedi, M'Bout, Selibaby and Gouraye is the first concrete action that illustrates the full resumption of EU's development aid. This decision followed clear commitments by the new Mauritanian authorities with democracy and the rule of law and the progress in their implementation, closely monitored by the EU. This road should have a major impact in the living conditions of rural populations in the south of the country.

On 3 August 2005 a group of army officers led by Colonel Ely Ould Mohammed Vall staged a bloodless coup against the regime of President Taya and went on to form a military council. The European Commission consequently condemned the coup and consultations under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement were opened. During these consultations the new regime has committed itself, among others, to the return to democratic order before May 2007 and to the launch of important reforms in the fields of justice and good governance.

Based on a positive assessment of the implementation of the 23 commitments taken by the new Mauritanian authorities during the consultations (in the areas of respect for democratic principles, fundamental freedoms and rights, the rule of law and good governance), the EU decided on 29^th of May 2006 to fully resume the cooperation. However, regular reviews of the 23 commitments will be undertaken by the Commission over an 18-month monitoring period on the path mapped out towards democracy, the rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms and good governance. These developments reaffirm once again the importance of the Cotonou Agreement as an essential tool to promote and support democracy and good governance through political dialogue in the ACP countries.

The cooperation had been partly blocked since the coup d'etat. However, important projects supporting the transition process have been adopted: a € 6 M allocation to support the electoral process of 2006-2007, including a referendum and local, parliamentary, senatorial and presidential elections; an EU electoral observation mission; a € 4,5 M project in support to the civil society; and a € 3,1 M institutional support project to the Ministry of Transport, to reinforce sector reforms. The Commission has also initiated the preparation of projects to be adopted in 2006 and in 2007 to support reforms in the Justice sector and the decentralisation process.

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