On Monday 28 May, the European ministers for foreign affairs had an exchange of views on the worrying situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and expressed their desire for democratic and credible elections to be held on 23 December – a process that the EU is ready to support in coordination with its international and African partners, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said at the end of the Council session.
"We reaffirmed our coordination with the United Nations and African Union to encourage and accompany the electoral process", she told press, underlining the importance of the credibility of the vote for the respect of its results.
When arriving at the EU Council, Belgium's minister Didier Reynders, whose country requested this debate (see EUROPE 12027), expressed the hope that the EU "insist unanimously on this need to move towards a credible electoral process" that can take place on the announced date "because the situation is worrying, on the humanitarian, security and even health level with an Ebola crisis hitting the country".
Luxembourg's minister, Jean Asselborn, spoke in the same way at the end of the session. "We are keeping course to maintain the pressure. The humanitarian situation is tragic. Over 10 million people need humanitarian aid", he told EUROPE. After the postponement of the elections by a president in power since 2001, "we are now talking about elections for 23 December, but there is no guarantee", Asselborn stated. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)