(1)

On 24 July 2008, the Council adopted Joint Action 2008/612/CFSP (1) appointing Mr Ettore F. SEQUI as the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan for the period from 1 September 2008 to 28 February 2009.

(2)

On 16 February 2009, the Council adopted Joint Action 2009/135/CFSP (2) extending the mandate of the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan until 28 February 2010.

(3)

On the basis of a review of Joint Action 2009/135/CFSP, the mandate of the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan should be expanded to include Pakistan. Therefore, Joint Action 2009/135/CFSP should be repealed.

(4)

The European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan will implement his mandate in the context of a situation which may deteriorate and could harm the Common Foreign and Security Policy objectives set out in Article 11 of the Treaty,

(a)

contribute to the implementation of the EU-Afghanistan Joint Declaration and the Afghanistan Compact, as well as the relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions and other relevant UN Resolutions;

(b)

encourage positive contributions from regional actors in Afghanistan and from neighbouring countries to the peace process in Afghanistan and thereby contribute to the consolidation of the Afghan State;

(c)

contribute to the implementation of the EU-Pakistan Joint Declaration, as well as the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) and other relevant UN Resolutions;

(d)

support the pivotal role played by the UN, notably the Special Representative of the Secretary-General; and

(e)

support the work of the Secretary-General/High Representative (SG/HR) in the region.

(a)

convey the views of the EU on the political process in Afghanistan while drawing on the key principles agreed between Afghanistan and the international community, in particular the EU-Afghanistan Joint Declaration and the Afghanistan Compact;

(b)

convey the views of the EU on the political process in Pakistan, while drawing key principles emerging from the regular contacts between Pakistan and the international community, most notably in the context of the Group of Friends of Democratic Pakistan;

(c)

establish and maintain close contact with, and give support to, the Afghan and Pakistani representative institutions, in particular the Government and Parliament. Contact should also be maintained with other Afghan and Pakistani political figures and other relevant actors inside as well as outside those countries;

(d)

maintain close contact with relevant international and regional organisations, notably with the local representatives of the UN;

(e)

stay in close contact with neighbouring and other interested countries in the region, so that their views on the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the development of cooperation between these countries and Afghanistan and Pakistan are taken into account in EU policy;

(f)

advise on the progress achieved in meeting the objectives of the EU-Afghanistan Joint Declaration and the Afghanistan Compact and the EU-Pakistan Joint Declaration, in particular in the following areas:

(g)

in consultation with representatives of Member States and of the Commission, assist in ensuring that the political approach of the EU is reflected in its action for the development of Afghanistan and Pakistan;

(h)

jointly with the Commission, actively participate in the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board established under the Afghanistan Compact and in the Group of Friends of Democratic Pakistan; and

(i)

advise on the participation and the positions of the EU in international conferences on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

(a)

establishing a mission-specific security plan based on guidance from the General Secretariat of the Council, including mission-specific physical, organisational and procedural security measures, governing management of the secure movement of personnel to, and within, the mission area, as well as management of security incidents and including a mission contingency and evacuation plan;

(b)

ensuring that all personnel deployed outside the EU are covered by high risk insurance as required by the conditions in the mission area;

(c)

ensuring that all members of his team to be deployed outside the EU, including locally contracted personnel, have received appropriate security training before or upon arriving in the mission area, based on the risk ratings assigned to the mission area by the General Secretariat of the Council;

(d)

ensuring that all agreed recommendations made following regular security assessments are implemented and providing the SG/HR, the Council and the Commission with written reports on their implementation and on other security issues within the framework of the mandate implementation reports.