Brussels, 16/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - A delegation of EU experts led by Pieter Feith, the Personal Representative for Sudan of Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for the CFSP, is in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) at the headquarters of the African Union (UA) until Saturday. The political mission of the four experts is to assess how the EU could increase its support for the AU according to its needs, if the AU asks to enlarge its mission in Darfur (see EUROPE of 14 September, p. 6). The high-level meetings to achieve this are a follow-up to recent contacts between Javier Solana and the UA Commission President Alpha Oumar Konaré.
In a communication, Javier Solana declared that "The EU is already committed to supporting the African Union in the handling of the Darfur crisis. We will discuss ways and means to enhance such support, notably in the area of police assistance (…) I am confident that ongoing talks between the EU and the AU will result in a strong and lasting cooperation between our organisations in the area of crisis management. We need a strong AU, able to lead and to deal effectively with African crises".
Javier Solana will himself meet African leaders next week in New York in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly which is due to vote on a second resolution for Sudan.