Brussels, 20/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - On behalf of the European Union, the Danish Presidency has made the following declaration, "The European Union has followed the deliberations of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) concerning the amendment of the Indonesian constitution with interest and considers the decisions taken an important step towards the further strengthening of democracy in Indonesia. The fourth amendment to the Constitution of 1945 paves the way for the direct election of the President and Vice-President and for a future composition of the MPR consisting entirely of members elected, thereby becoming directly accountable to the Indonesian people. With the mended constitution and the decision to establish a constitutional commission the MPR has prepared the ground for the elections in 2004 as well as for a more thorough review of the constitution. The European Union will follow the implementation of the new regulations with interest and is willing to provided support if needed and where possible. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated countries of Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and Liechtenstein and Norway, EFTA countries members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration."