10/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU hails abolition of capital punishment. During the evening of Wednesday 9 December, the European Union hailed the vote of the Mongolian parliament on Friday 4 December for a new criminal code that abolishes the death penalty for all crimes. It said it was “truly excellent news”. “Taking effect from September 2016, this formal legal step follows on from the moratorium on the use of the death penalty that has been applied in Mongolia since January 2010”, said the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. The spokesperson added that the EU hoped that other countries in the region would follow Mongolia's example and support the objective of working towards universal abolition of the death penalty. Mongolia has become the 105th country to abolish capital punishment. (CG)