Strasbourg, 14/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the end of its topical debates, Thursday, plenary adopted a resolution on the current crisis in Zimbabwe, hoping for the organisation of legislative elections at latest on 1 June and urging the Council to involve the EP in monitoring these elections. Commissioner Pascal Lamy noted that the Commission recongised the European Parliament and ACP/EU Joint Assembly's lengthy experience in this domain, but said he doubted the effectiveness of such an initiative, notably due to the conditions for preparing these elections. The EP calls on the Zimbabwe authorities to respect human rights, including those of minorities, and considers that the question of agrarian reform can only be settled by non-violent and legal means (here, it stresses that many militants of the Zimbabwe opposition had affirmed their support for the landowners of the farms occupied by former combatants). In addition, the EP urges Zimbabwe to withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Parliament did not call for a suspension of aid to Zimbabwe, idea which was raised during the debate, and Pascal Lamy said that, although there may be reasons for suspending financial cooperation, the Commission fears that such a decision, if taken before the elections, may be counterproductive. The Commission, he stressed, considers in particular that the programmes to combat poverty in Zimbabwe, funded by the 8th European Development Fund, had to be maintained.