Brussels, 25/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 22 February, the Spanish Presidency issued the following statement on behalf of the European Union:
"The European Union fully understands and respects the decision which the President of Colombia felt obliged to take on 20 February 2002, putting an end to the Process, which began in 1998, of dialogue, negotiation and the signing of agreements with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) and to the Disengagement Zone. President Andrés Pastrana has, throughout those years, displayed an untiring determination to achieve Peace in Colombia, which, unfortunately, cannot be said of the FARC-EP. The EU utterly condemns the latest attack against the civilian population attributed to the FARC-EP. The gravity of the aircraft hijacking and the kidnapping of several of its passengers demonstrates that the FARC-EP pay no heed to the repeated calls from the whole of Colombian society and the international community to ease the conflict. The EU deeply regrets the fact that, since the signing on 20 January 2002 of the Consensus Schedule Agreement for the future Peace Process with the Colombian Government, the FARC-EP have demonstrated their lack of willingness to make serious progress in the Process, by failing to honour the undertakings signed with the Government. The FARC-EP's grave provocations have led to the breakdown of a negotiating process on which the Colombian people had based their hopes for peace. The European Union profoundly deplores these provocations, which come on top of the violence which the paramilitaries continue to perpetrate. The EU has reiterated several times its rejection and condemnation of the practice of kidnapping, extortion and other crimes committed by armed groups in Colombia. In the present grave circumstances, the EU renews its urgent appeal for respect for International Humanitarian Law and the protection of the civilian population, and it reserves the right to change its policy towards the armed groups. At this difficult time, the EU wishes to express its support for and solidarity with the Colombian people as a whole, and with President Pastrana and his Government. The Union hopes that Colombian democracy, on the basis of a strict observance of the Rule of Law and full respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, can completely fulfil the aspirations for peace and prosperity of all the Colombian people. The EU once again assures the Colombian people of its support for any initiative to establish a genuine dialogue with a view to ending the conflict which is tearing Colombia apart. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the EU, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the EEA align themselves with this declaration".
The President of the EU Council, Josep Piqué, planned to speak with Colin Powell in Washington, on Monday 25 February, about the situation in Colombia.