EU TO TACKLE COLOMBIA DRUG PROBLEM WITH TARGETED AID

After the US Congress approved around Dollars 1bn of emergency aid to
Colombia last year, mainly to try to curb illegal drug exports, some
of its members were quick to charge that Europe - another key market
for Colombian narcotics - was lagging behind in offering similar
financial support.

Now the European Union is prepared to direct aid to one of Colombia's
most complex and violent regions, hoping to prove that its approach to
solving the country's problems - based on fostering peace talks with
leftwing rebels and resolving social inequalities - will be more
successful than the US's perceived hardline preference for sending
aircraft to eradicate drug crops by force.

The shop window for the EU's Colombia aid programme is to be the
Magdalena Medio, a notorious epicentre of conflict where guerrillas,
paramilitaries and local mafia struggle over mineral and drug wealth.

How much support the region will get remains uncertain, partly because
of doubt over planned peace talks between the government and
guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

Nevertheless a donor meeting in Brussels on April 30 is expected to
confirm a package of regional development projects. Total EU aid to
Colombia is likely to be Euros 200-Euros 300m.

The EU wants to make Magdalena Medio "its" region, compared with areas
such as Putumayo in southern Colombia, which are being targeted under
US-backed Plan Colombia.

The EU dislikes Plan Colombia, with its heavy emphasis on drug crop
spraying and military operations.

One European diplomat said Europe does not want to be "the cleaning
lady coming in to sweep up" a mess created by the US.

Daniel Parfait, France's ambassador to Colombia, said: "In Putumayo
there is a responsibility for the US. They are fumigating, therefore
it is up to them to find the social programmes to help. I don't see
why we would get involved."

If foreign aid improves conditions for Magdalena Medio's 800,000
people it will be a dramatic success, since its 30,000 sq km
encapsulate Colombia's troubles.

Centred on the Magdalena river and the oil-refining town of
Barrancabermeja, the region's richness in oil and precious metals and
its location on key river trade routes have made its control a
priority for the country's combating factions.

Their dominance, and consequent lack of state control, has also turned
the area into a key drug-producing area.

Strong, leftwing oil unions and grinding poverty have increased
support in Magdalena Medio for leftwing rebels, principally the ELN.
But the ELN has been squeezed by rightwing paramilitaries.

Having established dominance over most of the surrounding area,
paramilitaries turned their fire on Barrancabermeja, waging a dirty
war not just against rebels but against any human rights defenders or
social welfare groups.

More than 150 people have been murdered in the town so far this
year.

The paramilitaries' strength has also cast doubt on the year-old plan
to create a demilitarised area not far from Barrancabermeja, which
would host negotiations between the government and the ELN.

Local opposition, partly fostered by paramilitaries and their backers,
has so far frustrated the attempts. Privately some EU diplomats agree
with the ELN that the government is not doing enough to curb the
paramilitaries.

Those asking for aid next week - much of which would be channelled
into job-creating agricultural projects - fear international help will
be less forthcoming because peace talks are not under way.

However, diplomats in Bogota believe the EU will put more aid into the
region over time if its initial assistance bears fruit.