Brussels, 06/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - The EU welcomes the agreement reached on 30 July in Accra (Ghana) between all the parties involved in the Côte d'Ivoire crisis during a summit attended by ten African Heads of State and Kofi Annan. The agreement, known as Accra III, gives fresh hope for peace and reconciliation in Côte d'Ivoire, which, although free from fighting, still remains divided in two with the north held by former rebels and the south in the hands of the reconciliation government under Laurent Gbagbo. It aims to ensure respect for the Linas-Marcoussis agreements concluded in France in 2003 by lifting obstacles to their implementation. It above all provides for amendments to the rules of citizenship and the electoral law by end September at the latest (via revision of Article 35 of the Constitution which has been at the heart of the crisis since summer 2000).
The Dutch Presidency issued the following declaration on Friday: "The EU welcomes the political agreement reached in Accra on 30 July 2004 by the protagonists in the Côte d'Ivoire crisis. It acclaims the initiative of the United Nations Secretary General and the President in Office of ECOWAS, as well as the support provided by the many African Heads of State present in Accra. The EU would urge all the parties concerned to commit themselves resolutely to full, practical application of the provisions of this agreement within the general framework outlined in the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement".