Highlights the major external assistance programmes which could not be foreseen at the time of adopting the current financial perspective, such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the recent proposal for a reconstruction programme after the tsunami; is concerned about the need to provides resources for new strategic partnerships and expects the Council to recognise the current difficulties and to clearly commit to agreeing the new priorities without jeopardising the traditional policies; notes worrying decreases both for some geographical and thematic programmes and believes that a re-balancing of budgetary amounts and new resources is necessary; stresses the importance of the European Neighbourhood Policy, including support for democratic change in neighbouring countries; regrets the reduction in particular of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, the only external programme which can be applied without host country consent; highlights, further, the need to increase the EU's role at international level in the field of the CFSP and ESDP and wishes to explore the needs in the established joint CFSP-meetings with the UK Presidency before taking a final decision;
Highlights the major external assistance programmes which could not be foreseen at the time of adopting the current financial perspective, such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the recent proposal for a reconstruction programme after the tsunami; is concerned about the need to provides resources for new strategic partnerships and expects the Council to recognise the current difficulties and to clearly commit to agreeing the new priorities without jeopardising the traditional policies; notes worrying decreases both for some geographical and thematic programmes and believes that a re-balancing of budgetary amounts and new resources is necessary; stresses the importance of the European Neighbourhood Policy, including support for democratic change in neighbouring countries; regrets the reduction in particular of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, the only external programme which can be applied without host country consent; highlights, further, the need to increase the EU's role at international level in the field of the CFSP and ESDP and wishes to explore the needs in the established joint CFSP-meetings with the UK Presidency before taking a final decision;