GREAT LAKES: EU “arms-length” policy unacceptable, Belgium says

NAIROBI, 3 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has called on the European Union to pay greater attention to the central African countries. In a speech to members of the European Commission in Brussels on Monday to mark Belgium’s presidency of the EU, Verhofstadt said the EU countries must take a leading role in trying to resolve the conflicts in central Africa. Recalling his just-ended visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Verhofstadt said: “I would like to draw your attention in particular to the
development of coordinated action in that region [central Africa] at the political, diplomatic and economic levels.” “The region in question is being ravaged by a war involving much of the continent,” he said.

“Seven countries are engaged in the conflict, often switching sides, and the number of victims is estimated at
several million,” he went on. “From a political point of view, the Balkans and the Middle East may seem more important, but from a humanitarian angle, our hesitancy and arms-length policy vis-à-vis the Great Lakes region in Africa is unacceptable.”

[ENDS]