Michel puts Chechnya visit on hold

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 24/05/06

Development Commissioner Louis Michel has been forced to delay a planned trip to Chechnya because of concerns that aid operations could be compromised by his visit.

Michel was due to travel to the troubled Russian region in July, but the visit was likely to clash with the G8 summit in St Petersburg on 15-17 July. An aide to Michel said that the trip would be delayed as the European Commission was keen to ensure that the visit was "not taken as a political message".

The EU is the leading donor in the region, funding a large proportion of the international community's supply of emergency food aid.

Since the second Chechen war began in 1999, the Commission has given EUR 200 million to the region.

Commission officials were worried that the trip could be seen as a deliberate snub to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, as chairman of the G8, will be hosting world leaders in his home city.

Moscow is said to have voiced criticism of the timing of the visit, raising the possibility that Michel would not have received a visa in time. He has not yet visited Chechnya since becoming commissioner in 2004. Despite repeated calls from the Parliament, his predecessor Poul Nielsen failed to visit the region.

Some humanitarian relief agencies and Michel's advisers were concerned that operations could have been affected by the visit.

One official said that Russia had often placed laborious restrictions on EU aid, by levying taxes on food aid and limiting the access of certain agencies. He said that such a high-profile visit might have made matters worse.

Officials said Michel still hoped to visit Chechnya before the summer but discussions were continuing on the exact timing.

Article reports that the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, was forced to delay a planned trip to Chechnya because of concerns that aid operations could be compromised by his visit. The trip had originally been planned for July 2006 but the European Commission was keen not to see it misunderstood as a 'political message' to the G8 summit in St Petersburg on 15-17 July.

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