In May, the European Commission cancelled about $32 million worth of sugar funding, saying it took the decision in the absence of any sign that a legitimate government will be in place in 2009.
Dr. Clara Portela, an assistant professor of political science at Singapore Management University, said with the sugar industry already struggling, that may not be the most appropriate course of action.
“To me this is the main drawback of the strategy followed by the EU. It is targeting an industry in which it is very powerful, which is not necessarily the wrong target, but it is not necessarily the best possible target.”
Portela said the EU may have more impact supporting New Zealand and Australia’s call for the United Nations to stop using Fiji soldiers.
