EU freezes aid to Ethiopia over political situation
Dec 29, 2005 (BRUSSELS) — The European Commission has decided to freeze some of its direct aid to the Ethiopian government amid growing concerns about political instability in the country, a spokesman said Thursday.
“The European Commission and other donors have doubts that the necessary conditions are in place to go ahead with budget support,” said commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio.
“What we’ve done is not suspend (making funds available), but delay taking a decision to go ahead with this budget support,” he added.
The spokesman said that the decision would not affect humanitarian aid or funds earmarked for healthcare and education.
However, it would affect 150 million euros (177 million dollars) in aid slated for a major road infrastructure project, he said.
“Given the current instability … it doesn’t seem possible to go ahead” with the aid, he said.
Western donors are becoming increasingly concerned about the political situation in Ethiopia amid government violence against opposition groups since contested elections earlier this year.
The Financial Times reported Thursday that donors were to withhold 375 million dollars (317 million euros) in aid to Addis Ababa because of a government clampdown on opposition.
The decision came after opposition protest was violently put down last month leaving nearly 50 people dead.
The newspaper reported a western diplomat as saying that the donors’ “trust has broken down” following the violence.
Earlier this month, Britain decided to suspend some of its aid to the country.
In Addis Ababa, a senior government official speaking on condition of anonymity acknowledged that there was pressure to halt some aid to Ethiopia, but said the government had not received official information to that effect.
“We know that some Ethiopians in the diaspora and some European parliamentarians have been calling on the World Bank and the European Union to suspend direct aid to the government, but no one from either organization has ever mentioned this in a formal way to us,” the official told AFP.
(AFP/ST