The Commission of the European Community:
H.E. Mr. Bernhard Zepter
Ambassador, Delegation of the European Commission to Japan

2. May I first of all say that we believe that this conference can advance the process of reconstruction in Sri Lanka. We had hoped until the last minute that there would be a change of heart by the LTTE leadership. We believe that the participation of LTTE at this conference would have had positive effects on progress towards rehabilitation and redevelopment in Sri Lanka that would have helped all, in particular the Tamil people.

3. I would also like to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of the Norwegian facilitators and our Japanese hosts in their efforts to get the LTTE back on board this process. The EU urges the LTTE to resume negotiations and to work with the Government towards constitutional arrangements that can be widely accepted in Sri Lanka.

4. I think that we were all impressed by the outcome of the Oslo Conference last year and by the progress, which came out of rounds of peace talks, which followed. This process concentrated the attention of the international donor community on Sri Lanka – at a time when there were competing interests elsewhere.

5. The reason for this attention is simple – peacefully negotiated settlements to long-standing civil conflicts in such circumstances are “oiseaux rares”. The international community is always anxious to provide all of the help and support that it can when such opportunities present themselves. In this spirit, it is important to underline that the EU makes a clear link between development assistance pledged here today in support to the Sri Lankan peace process and further progress in negotiating and implementing a political settlement. We encourage the parties to agree a set of basic principles against which progress can be measured. Similarly, it is important to understand that support to mine clearing actions can only continue as long as no new mines are laid.

6. The progress and the atmosphere of the earlier rounds of peace talks led firstly to the success of Oslo, with pledging of $70 million for immediate humanitarian needs, and it has led us here to Tokyo, where we now look beyond the immediate, to the reconstruction and development phases of Sri Lanka’s future, with particular emphasis to the war torn areas of the North and East.

7. Time has been short between Oslo and now. Budgets for funding international development are like ocean liners, they take a long time to change direction. I suspect that many around this conference hall have had to deploy significant imagination and budgetary creativity in order to be in a position to make the pledges, which they will announce over the next two days.

8. I mention this particularly for the benefit of the delegation (s) from Sri Lanka. In a world of competing crises, the international community is spoilt for choice. The edge, which Sri Lankans have at present, their trump card, is that the peace process continues to move forward.

9. Both Government and the LTTE must reflect on this, particularly as now, when the going gets tough. But if at these times we in the international community can perceive a determination by both sides to maintain contact, to be pragmatic, and to continue to move the process forward then this will provide the incentive for the international community to continue its support.

10. In this context, I am pleased to say that total pledges from the EU (MS+Commission combined) amount to about 250 million EURO – almost exclusively grant and spread over a three-year period. I wish to underline though that disbursement of funds will depend on the peace process making satisfactory progress. However, given such progress, additional funds might indeed be available from EU donors.

11. On the political front we have made clear to both the Government and the LTTE that we are ready to assist both parties to study federal and other devolved systems of government in other parts of the world. Visits to the Nordic countries have already taken place and representatives of the Peace Secretariat and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization have visited the Commission in Brussels for briefings and fact-finding.

12. The parties involved should agree on constitutional arrangements. The only concern of the EU as donor is that the system must be democratic, transparent and accountable, respecting the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. The interests of all communities in the area – regardless of ethnic origin – should be safeguarded and human rights respected. Local government structures should be developed expeditiously to help build trust between communities. An agreed system of revenue generation, resource distribution and taxation in conflict-affected areas needs to be set up. This will increase the confidence of donors and pave the way for further support.

13. May I now give the floor to Ambassador Zepter, representing the European Commission here today.

14. Distinguished Delegates, regrettably, the Director General for External Relations of the European Commission, Mr. Legras, got stuck in Paris on his way to Tokyo due to a strike. On his behalf, let me say that the EU looks forward to the opportunity to be an active partner in the follow-up to the Tokyo conference and as a contributor to the reconstruction and development phase.

15. We are extremely conscious of the need to continue to address the needs, both developmental and economic, of the whole island of Sri Lanka.

16. We are indebted to the World Bank, ADB and the UN for the work that they have carried out to complete the Needs Assessment Report. We believe that it provides a realistic picture, merging the desirable with the feasible. It is critical that the two parties agree appropriate implementation arrangements as an important next step in operationalising the Needs Assessment.

17. The Needs Assessment will be an invaluable tool for the donor community and as the main reference for additional funding to be mobilized in the months to come. We are pleased to note that the bridging paper just released also addresses the important role of improved governance and improved aid utilization.

18. We are interested to hear about the needs assessment later today. There is a need to establish a working administration in the North-East which meets the aspirations of the Tamil people but which at the same time responds to the need to acknowledge the rights of minorities within the framework of a pluralist society.

19. These are linked issues that can only be dealt with through dialogue and in a spirit of willing compromise by both sides. At the beginning of the process I recall that there was general recognition that none of the parties could get all that they wanted. Perhaps we need to remind ourselves of that self-evident condition once more.

20. With so many donors present here in Tokyo I hope that in the discussions later we can begin the process of the exchange of ideas on how these issues, which are currently holding up the excellent progress that has been made so far, can move towards a satisfactory resolution.

21. The EU looks forward to the opportunity to be an active partner in the follow up to the Tokyo Conference. Among other aspects, we are prepared to be involved in discussions on how to get the NERF operational as quickly as possible. The Fund must be administered in an efficient, transparent and accountable way, characterized by good governance and timely delivery and the LTTE should of course have a significant role.

22. The EU is also ready to engage in constructive discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE and other parties on how best to utilize the NERF for the rehabilitation of conflict-affected areas and be part of a donors committee overseeing the development work of the body administering the NERF.

23. We also continue to look for opportunities to encourage the Sri Lankan economy, which is starting to benefit from a period of sustained peace, to bring the promise of sustained prosperity for all of Sri Lanka’s citizens in the north as well as in the south.

24. Just the other day JP Morgan Chase Bank evaluated the Sri Lankan economy as follows: “Sri Lanka could rank among the world’s fastest-growing economies later this decade as an ongoing peace process continue to boost.” We commend the government for taking hard and difficult decisions to get the economy up and running. The EU encourages all of Sri Lanka to grab the opportunity presented to them.

25. Sri Lanka is in a state of transition, not at war but still not at peace with itself and thus not definitively post conflict. It is the hope of the EU that the Tokyo Conference will contribute to the sustained progress of the peace process in Sri Lanka and that a final peace settlement is not too far down the road. As was said earlier, the assistance pledged today is conditional on further progress made in finding a political solution to this conflict. The peace process and the development process are mutually reinforcing. But not only that – without one the other will fail.

Thank you chairman.