DARFUR TESTS NEW EU FOREIGN AID APPROACH

The European Commission has radically overhauled the way it works: aid has been designed to promote local ownership as the best guarantee for its sustainability, writes Poul Nielsen, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. The EU-backed African Peace Facility is a case in point, the author writes in this analysis. The African Union is currently facing its sternest test in Darfur. The EU has mobilised 12 million euros from the Peace Facility to support the AU\'s current efforts. But as the situation in Darfur worsens pressure is mounting on the international community to intervene directly in the conflict. Certainly, the international community has an important role to play, and with continued pressure on the conflicting parties and 285 million euros in direct humanitarian aid, the EU has not turned a blind eye. However, now is not the time to undermine the ownership and initiative taken by the AU, which has been proactively seeking a solution to the crisis. Also, in a difficult situation like the Darfur crisis we must have the courage to choose the option that offers us long-term prospects of a solution. A lot is at stake, not only for the population of Darfur but for the continent as a whole.