Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, returned from Sudan where he paid a visit, mandated by the EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini, on Monday 15 July, to inform the European Foreign Ministers of his mission to Khartoum, where he met both the Transitional Military Council and civil society.
On this basis, the EU confirmed that it was "ready to support a civilian government as soon as it is in place" and that it would "follow very closely the next steps", Ms Mogherini summarised at the end of the meeting (see EUROPE 12276/2).
Mr Haavisto, considered it "very important" to bring the EU's message to Khartoum, namely that "we encourage all parties to the Peace Agreement. At the same time it was very clear that the civil society needs all our support and capacity building. Women and the role of women has been so important during the spring demonstrations", he told reporters on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting.
According to him, the EU has "a crucial role to play in supporting the economy of a future Sudan as soon as a transitional government is in place". He recalled that Sudan is still on the list of countries supporting terrorism drawn up by the US State Department. "I understand that the United States is following the process closely and that Sudan could be removed from this list when a civilian government is in place", he said.
As a second step, debt relief could be considered, as well as support for the creation of an enabling environment for the country to make economic progress, provided, however, that "the role of the army and the security apparatus are under the full control of the government". In Khartoum, the Finnish Minister expressed the EU's condolences for the "innocent civilians attacked" on 3 June by the security forces. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)