Afghanistan: The struggle continues

Francesc Vendrell thinks the Taliban still pose a threat

In a Hardtalk interview broadcast on July 31 Lyse Doucet speaks to EU Envoy to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell. She talks to him about how the international community can help Afghanistan's fragile government to be a success - and why powerful warlords and the Taliban still pose a threat.

Click here to watch the full interview

Francesc Vendrell says that there has been a sea of change in the European Union's attitude towards Afghanistan.

Karzai needs outside help. He has not asked for it

Francesc Vendrell

He says that six months ago, the concern for security in Afghanistan was not there."Now Europe understands," he says.

The warlords are still very much in control outside of Kabul. Mr Vendrell acknowledges that this is still a big challenge for Mr Karzai: "Karzai needs outside help. He has not asked for it".

Threat of the Taliban

In some parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban has regained enough confidence to set up government structures to rival those of the Kabul government.

Mr Vendrell says that he is concerned about this development:

"Elements are there for them to remain a major nuisance. For as long as the coalition is in Afghanistan, I do not see the Taliban being able to be a major menace. The problem is that you can't keep the international force there all the time."

How long can President Karzai keep support for the Taliban at bay?

He says that the international community became obsessed with Iraq - at the expense of Afghanistan:

" I think it [Afghanistan] has already paid a price. For several months - both before the outbreak of the war and during the war - both Europe and the US were obsessed about Iraq - not paying attention to Afghanistan."

While he remains optimistic for Afghanistan's future, he warns that the country could face terrible times ahead:

"I do agree if in the next year, we do not put [Afghanistan] on a fast track, we could find ourselves bogged down and lose the welcome of the Afghan people."

HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 03:30 GMT, 08:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 18:30 GMT and 23:30 GMT.

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 03:30 GMT and 22:30 GMT