14/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 12 February, the Greek Presidency on behalf of the EU made the following declaration, "The EU notes the decision of the Togolese national Assembly on 30 December 2002, to approve amendments to article 59 of the Togolese Constitution and the relevance of this decision to the forthcoming presidential elections in June. Recalling its declaration on previous electoral processes in this country, the EU calls on all parties to resume the political dialogue with the objective to agree an electoral framework acceptable to all. The EU furthermore urges the Togolese Authorities to ensure that the forthcoming presidential elections are held in a free, fair and transparent manner, which promotes the democratic process in Togo, in accordance with the spirit of the Lomé Framework Agreement. The EU is willing to support the electoral preparation in Togo, provided that a broad based agreement between the political forces has been reached on the condition for democratic elections. The Acceding countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration".