Increasing the military presence, investing more in the physical rebuilding of the country, protecting women’s rights, and fighting any form of violence and discrimination. The European Parliament, gathered in Strasbourg, voted a report today (423 votes for, 74 votes against, 43 abstentions; the sponsor André Brie asked that his name be withdrawn as he did not share many of the positions taken by the floor), insisting on the need to "increase the EU’s political influence in Afghanistan": that’s why "more fighting troops should be sent to the most difficult areas", "regardless of any national reticence". The 27 member states should join forces with NATO to fight terrorism in a country that would like to set off on the way to democracy "after thirty years of a history marked by the Soviet occupation, the fights between the different mujahidin factions, and the repression of the Taliban regime". Special concern has been voiced by the floor for the instability of the entire Middle-Eastern region, the poverty of the population, the continuation of opium growing, educational deficiencies, the rights of little girls and women. The European Parliament asks the EU for more funds for the civil rebuilding of the country and for humanitarian aids.
