Brussels, 27/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Upon a request from the Indonesian government supported by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the General Affairs Council decided, on Monday 27 February, to extend the European Union's Aceh Monitoring Mission by three months, until 15 June this year,. The Council welcomes the “very substantial progress” made toward restoring peace in the region as well as the commitment and cooperation shown by the Indonesian government and by GAM when it comes to implementing the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of August 2005. Demobilisation and demilitarisation of GAM have been achieved successfully, ministers say, although a number of major challenges have still to be raised in the context of MoU implementation. The EU's High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, welcomes this decision, pointing out in a press release that, over the last six months, the environment on the ground has become “safe and peaceful” and that the peace process is now irreversible. The joint EU-ASEAN mission has shown proof of its worth as a transparent and objective facilitator, Javier Solana said.