EU commissioner assesses Kabul aid

The European Union (EU) Commissioner for External Affairs, Chris Patten, is in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on a mission that EU Commission officials say will affect the way in which future reconstruction assistance is spent.

Mr Patten is assessing how EU subsidies are being used.

In a BBC interview before his arrival, Mr Patten said the 'real problem' was ensuring proper government structures were in place so aid money could be spent effectively.

He said the EU had made a 'good start' in helping Afghanistan with its rebuilding programme, but acknowledged there were still difficulties to be tackled.

Last week, Mr Patten said the EU's help was conditional on efforts by Afghanistan's leaders to establish a representative government, to eliminate terrorism and to crack down on the production of narcotic drugs as they had promised in Bonn last December.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service