The European Union Monday pledged 550 million euros (US$495 million) for this year to help rebuild Afghanistan.

The figure could rise to one billion euros (US$900 million) over the next five years, depending on member states' budgets, and the EU also plans to open a representative office in Kabul, officials said.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Nadal, representing the EU, announced the 2002 figure on the opening day of a two-day conference on Afghan aid being held in Tokyo.

"The EU will make available a total contribution of some 550 million euros for the year 2002," he said.

Of the total, 300 million euros will come from the 15 EU member states and the rest from the European Commission.

"It is a pleasure to announce a readiness of the EU to maintain a substantial contribution in the following years," Nadal added.

EC External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten told the aid conference that Europe would also show its long-term commitment to the Afghan people by opening the representative office in Kabul next month.

The new office would start operations from early February "to ensure rapid and efficient implementation of this assistance", Patten said.

The EC would recommend that the EU countries pay a comparable amount in Afghan aid until 2006, he added.

"I have to underline that we shall, however, have to convince our budgtary authority each year of the case for this priority.

"But if we are able to do this, then the aggregate contribution to Afghanistan from the European Community budget would rise to about one billion euros (US$900 million) over the period 2002-2006 to assist in the recovery and reconstruction of the country and to bring an end to the long-term suffering of its people."

EU conditions for the aid were a representative government and Afghan involvement in reconstruction, Patten said.

"Building the government is as important as building roads and bridges," he said.

Full cooperation in the fight against drugs was also a top priority, Patten said while congratulating the decision taken by the interim government of Hamid Karzai to ban poppy production.

"We must not lose sight of our objective -- to build a better Afghanistan, an Afghanistan free from terror, social injustice and exclusion, and warlordism," Patten added.