EU pledges more aid to RI

EU pledges more aid to RI

BRUSSELS (AFP): The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to step up its cooperation with Indonesia, despite its worries over new tensions in the vast country.

In a policy outline, the EU executive branch said the time was ripe for Brussels to extend more aid to combat poverty and encourage sustainable development of natural resources.

"What happens in Indonesia matters not just to its people, but to all of us," said Chris Patten, the former Hong Kong governor who now is the EU external affairs commissioner.

"We have the prospect of security democracy in one of the largest countries in Asia, and the biggest Muslim country in the world," he said. "We must support the reformers."

The policy outline ranks as "moderate" the extent of EU development aid to Indonesia since 1995 -- a total of 98 million euros (dollars) committed, with the bulk going to forestry and irrigation projects.