11/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Monday EU foreign affairs ministers welcomed the “significant progress made in restoring peace and stability in the Indonesia province of Aceh since the signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding in August 2005”. In the conclusions adopted by the General Affairs/External Relations Council, ministers declared, “A visible manifestation of this progress to date is the local elections held in Aceh on 11 December 2006”. The EU, which deployed an election observation mission, hopes that these elections “contribute to the further consolidation of the peace process to the benefit of the people of Aceh and the whole of Indonesia”. The EU25 also expressed its satisfaction with the role played by the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), which will conclude its mandate on 15 December in monitoring and supporting the peace process. The Council underlines the need to draw comprehensive lessons from this experience for future EU civilian crisis management missions. It also welcomes the very close cooperation during this mission between countries of the EU and the five ASEAN Contributing Countries. (hb)