International Compact with Iraq - European Community Statement

European Community statement at the Meeting on the International Compact with Iraq, United Nations Headquarters, New York

Mr Secretary-General,
Mr Vice-President

I would like at the outset to fully align myself with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Germany on behalf of the European Union.

The European Community also welcomes the meeting today as a way to reinvigorate the International Compact with Iraq. The European Community wishes to extend its gratitude to the Iraqi government and to the United Nations for taking the initiative of staging this event, and thanks Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and Vice-President Al-Mahdi, as well as SRSG Qazi for their enlightening introductory interventions.

For its part, the European Community has from the start been a strong supporter of the International Compact. Throughout the process it has been actively contributing to this exercise, not least through the Delegation of the European Commission opened in Baghdad in December 2005.

The European Community has already been a major donor with € 730 million grant assistance since 2003, trying to address the immediate humanitarian and reconstruction needs on the ground, as well as supporting the political process, including the various elections. Given the security situation, the EC could not use its traditional delivery mechanisms and has therefore provided most of its assistance through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI). For many donors, just like for the EC, IRFFI has played an important role to channel assistance to the Iraqi people. As the largest donor to IRFFI, we look forward to the Istanbul meeting on 20 March to discuss IRFFI's future, notably in the context of the new Compact.

Today, we reaffirm our strong commitment to supporting Iraq and the Iraqi people in a period when the challenges remain many and difficult. However difficult it may seem to look beyond the hardships of the present, a longer term vision is now necessary to progressively re-focus international assistance from a crisis situation to a hopefully post conflict situation in support of Iraq's development.

The International Compact put on the table by the Iraqi Government is a key document that embodies that long term vision. We welcome its wide distribution today. It will provide a useful framework for the Iraqi government to introduce and advance the necessary reforms and to establish a new partnership with the International Community. It should help in reinforcing national reconciliation and international support. Beyond its focus on economic development, we welcome the fact that the Compact recognizes the realities of the political and security environment, which directly impact on its implementation.

It is essential that a strong and clear Iraqi ownership is maintained when the Compact moves from preparation to implementation. It is also important that Iraq's neighbours and other regional actors engage constructively in this process for the benefit of Iraq's development, as well as for regional integration as a whole. The negotiations of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement which the Iraqi government and the European Commission launched last November will also assist Iraq's integration into the world trade system.

Within the EU framework, the European Community will continue to be a partner for a better future in with Iraq and looks forward to working closely with other international actors towards the same, essential, goal.

Thank you Mr Secretary-General.

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• EU Council Conclusions on Iraq (14/5/2007)
• Iraq: How the EU Commission is supporting the country (3/5/2007)
• EU Presidency Declaration on launching of International Compact with Iraq (3/5/2007)
• EUHR Solana meeting with Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Gambari on International Compact with Iraq  (27/4/2007)
• EU Commissioner Michel to visit Middle East to assess humanitarian situation (24/4/2007)
• EU Council Conclusions on Iraq (23/4/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement on bombing of Iraqi Parliament (13/4/2007)
• EUHR Solana condemns terrorist attack in Iraqi Parliament (12/4/2007)
• EU record on human rights protection in 2006 under scrutiny (28/3/2007)
• EU Commission plans new humanitarian funding of over €10 M for victims of Iraq crisis (15/2/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement on Iraq (12/1/2007)
• Iraq and the EU - EU Parliament calls for more engagement (27/11/2006)
• EU Presidency Statement - UN High-Level Meeting on Iraq (18/9/2006)
• EU Presidency Declaration - International Compact with Iraq  (1/8/2006)