Brussels, 12/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 11 January, the day after President Bush presented the new US strategy on Iraq, the European Union reiterated its commitment to a “secure, stable and united Iraq”. In a statement published on Thursday, the German Presidency says the EU “shares” the US president's concerns on the situation in Iraq and “condemns the increasing ethnic and religious violence which claims the lives of dozens of innocent people every day”. The EU will continue to support the Iraqi government in its efforts to reconstruct and stabilise the country, the German Presidency also stresses. The European Union is also “prepared to broaden its commitment provided that the security situation on the ground allows this”, but “the key to a united, federal and democratic Iraqi nation lies first and foremost with the people of Iraq themselves,” the statement says. “It is up to them to agree on the principles of coexistence and reach a political consensus on their common future on the basis of an intensified internal dialogue. The Presidency will continue to support efforts to bring about national reconciliation and dialogue, and calls upon Iraq's neighbours to respect the sovereignty of the country while making their own contribution to the stabilisation process,” the German Presidency concludes.
On Thursday, the spokeswoman for Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner welcomed the fact that, in his new strategy, President Bush had opted for a more global approach, not simply focused on military issues, but one which takes account of the political dimension of the matter and the need to take forward the process of national reconciliation between the various Iraqi parties. (hb)