Cautious approach to EU aid for North Africa

The EU has offered several countries in North Africa financial aid to promote democracy. The left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung however warns against it exerting undue pressure: "Firstly, the intention of rewarding countries that show encouraging signs of democratic development financially and punishing those that lag behind or suffer a relapse by taking away money from them is an insult to the people. Secondly, it would be arrogant for Brussels to grade countries according to their democratic performance. ... Supporting civilian societies, such as they exist in the individual countries, is just as sensible a measure as reallocating lump sums for national budgets to infrastructure projects. This way the people benefit directly from the aid. The only and most promising approach for Europeans is to make a sensible offer for a Mediterranean partnership without stipulating any discriminating conditions."

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