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WEEKLY
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| Pakistan & EU's soft power |
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
M Saeed Khalid
The first EU-Pakistan summit held in Brussels on June 17 was the clearest sign yet of our partnership with Europe having come of age. The acceptance by 27 members of the European Union to upgrade the dialogue with Pakistan to the level of their rotating presidency represents Europe's collective will to treat this country as a worthy member of the international community.
Facing Mr Zardari and his delegation at the conference table was President Vaclav Klaus representing the Czech Presidency, flanked by Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Javier Solana, the best known face of the EU. Their four-hour encounter, including a working lunch, was primarily aimed at better understanding each other's perception of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and its disastrous spill-over into Pakistan. The Europeans were keen to measure Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism and eradicating militancy. And given the gravity of the situation, it was also important for the leaders to give their final approval to the roadmap identifying ways the EU could help Pakistan out of a perilous situation. The snag was that Pakistan wanted a bold expression of solidarity on market access at the summit, and the EU is bound by its own rules-based system, which does not encourage major announcements unless issues have run through the Brussels bureaucracy and decisions approved by all 27 EU member-states.
Those looking for quick pickings at EU Headquarters should realise that the EU's soft power today is the result of a painstaking process of integration begun after World War II. A well-knit union of 27 members, with a population of 500 million that accounts for one fifth of the global GDP and represents the world's largest trading bloc, the EU has established its credentials as a proactive supporter of democracy, human rights and environmental protection. The European Parliament has assumed the role of a watchdog in these matters. In contrast to Washington, where world leaders flock to listen mostly to America's straight talk, the EU represents a combination of economic power, diplomatic finesse and a standards-based culture. Breakthroughs in Brussels are few and far between and virtue lies in maintaining the dialogue.
At this juncture, the EU is prepared to listen to Pakistan with greater sympathy for a variety of reasons. To begin, this was the first encounter with a popularly elected government since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Brussels in 1997 for concluding the Third Generation Cooperation Agreement between Pakistan and the Union. The military takeover of 1999 set back its ratification process by many years, which came back on track only after the EU recognised Pakistan's pivotal role in the success of the ISAF operation in Afghanistan. Secondly, but no less important, is the EU's perception that Pakistan is seriously fighting the extremist challenge to the state and there is a wave of sympathy for assisting the displaced populations. Thirdly, Brussels realises that Pakistan's battered economy needs support by way of financial aid and enhanced market access in the Union.
Pakistan's priority at the summit was to give a clear message to the EU about the pressing need for a level playing field in market access. The European Commission's traditional argument that Pakistan enjoys tariff concessions under the GSP scheme had to be countered effectively with the help of statistics to prove how some competitors had dramatically increased their share of EU's textile market because of zero tariff under the GSP plus scheme. The ongoing EU-India negotiations on a free trade agreement have further aggravated Pakistan's position in terms of future investments in the textile sector. The EU could demonstrate an even-handed approach by expressing its willingness at the summit to initiate talks aimed at an EU-Pakistan FTA.
The war on terror has rendered Pakistan's vulnerable economy more fragile. The European Union and the European Parliament have focused a great deal on women's and minorities' rights in Pakistan, conduct of fair and free elections, curbing terrorist outfits and matters related to nuclear non-proliferation. But at present, the EU is also looking at the pressing humanitarian and development needs of the world's sixth-most populous country, facing violence and instability in a highly charged atmosphere. European economic assistance to Pakistan is still channelled mostly through bilateral programmes of countries like the UK, Germany and France. Trade is the crucial area where policy as well as rules and regulations are framed by the Union. Therefore, the Brussels meeting offered a unique opportunity to break new ground.
The Union's echo to Mr Zardari's slogan of "trade not aid" was: take some aid while we talk about trade. A new package of 72 million euros in humanitarian and economic assistance was announced to supplement the 485 million euros pledged in long-term development aid over the next five years. The joint statement issued at the conclusion of the summit promised a sustained EU-Pakistan dialogue on trade, raising clearly the possibilities of a free trade agreement and concessions in a revamped GSP plus scheme. The EU would not go beyond accepting the possibilities because both prospects need to be worked out by the experts. Pakistan too needs to do its homework to determine the cost benefit comparison of a free trade agreement or unilateral concessions from the EU.
Several other areas were identified for future cooperation. Significant among these is the initiation of cooperation aimed at improving Pakistan's counter-terrorism capabilities, notably in the field of law enforcement and criminal justice particularly supporting the police forces. The EU-Pakistan "strategic dialogue" will cover a wide range of subjects related to security, development, human rights, democracy, energy, environment, non-proliferation, disarmament, education, and science and technology. We can see the contours of a framework where Pakistan is expected to relentlessly pursue its action against militancy and the EU fulfils its commitment of more aid and an active dialogue as well as measures to help Pakistan's performance in trade. The EU also expects Pakistan to help in strengthening security and stability in the region and create conditions conducive to resume the composite dialogue with India. Read this as a reminder to prosecute those named by India for masterminding the Mumbai killings. Gentle reminders on transit trade to Afghanistan and beyond or on implementing SAFTA figure in the joint statement.
The EU may not ask Islamabad to give up its "misplaced" threat perception about India. But the Europeans never hesitate in recommending that the way forward in South Asia is the one that leads to integration through peaceful cooperation, as achieved in Europe through the EU. In their best-case scenario, the Europeans might even think of the Kashmir dispute being subsumed in a process of economic integration on the lines of the European Communities created after World War II, before they matured into a full-fledged European Union.
Pakistan, for its part, can suggest to the EU leaders that they too can help by persuading India to treat the composite dialogue process as a strategic choice rather than a tactical competition in which India asks for time out after a terrorist strike, giving benefit to those very forces who are trying to derail the dialogue. Indeed, the professed support by the west to Pakistan should also include an element of dissuading India from fuelling the unrest in our troubled areas. And if India, for its own reasons, decides to relegate the peace process with Pakistan to the backburner, then the Europeans should also lower their expectations, however noble, of regional economic integration in South Asia.
The writer is Pakistan's former ambassador to the EU. E-mail: saeed.saeedk@ gmail.com
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ISSN 1563-9479 
