BRUSSELS, April 20: Relations between Pakistan and the European Union face a crucial test on Wednesday as members of the European Parliament prepare to take a make-or-break decision on the future of a new trade and cooperation agreement linking the two sides.
The 626-member European Parliament has to vote in plenary session either on April 21 or 22 - on whether or not to ratify the EU-Pakistan pact which was signed in 2001 but then put on ice because of EU concerns over the state of democracy and human rights in Pakistan.
The EU assembly remains deeply divided on how to deal with Pakistan, with deputies unsure of whether human rights concerns or Pakistan's increasingly important role in the war against terror as well as its rapidly-warming relations with India should take a centre stage in discussions.
Prospects for parliamentary approval of the EU-Pakistan pact have brightened following a decision by the EU parliament's influential foreign affairs committee last week to give its go-ahead to the deal.
But the vote in the committee was extremely close with 15 members voting in favour of parliamentary endorsement and 14 members voting against. The discussion in the committee was extremely acrimonious. John Cushnahan, the former parliamentary rapporteur on Pakistan who has now resigned from the job, is asking his colleagues to vote against ratification.
Mr Cushnahan says that the EU must put human rights much higher up on its foreign policy agenda, and he has warned parliamentarians that Islamabad is not doing enough to protect fundamental freedoms of its citizens.
British MP Emma Nicholson from the Liberal group also warned that it would be "hypocritical" to give the agreement with Pakistan the thumbs up. Others in the committee took a more pragmatic view, however, with several deputies insisting that while Pakistan's human rights and democracy credentials were not perfect, Islamabad should be encouraged to make more progress.
However, at least one difficult issue in EU-Pakistan relations has been removed, with the recent decision by a Pakistani court to allow the Tasman Spirit's crew to leave Pakistan.
Pakistan and the EU signed the new agreement in November 2001 but the parliament suspended ratification of the pact shortly afterwards on political grounds. If the parliament endorses the pact next week, the new accord will be have to be formally approved by the EU's council of ministers.
