10/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 9 July, the Portuguese presidency of the EU published a statement on recent events in Iraq: 'The EU presidency was deeply shocked to learn of the series of attacks perpetrated last weekend in Iraq, which have claimed the lives of more than 200 people, many of them women and children… The attacks, particularly the one in a busy market in Amerli, province of Salahuddin, have affected numerous innocent people's lives. The presidency hopes that the Iraqi people and government will not let violent extremists distract them from their course towards peaceful development, and calls upon all groups and parties in Iraq to renounce the use of violence and to come together in a spirit of dialogue and mutual respect as the indispensable basis for national reconciliation. Lasting stability can only be achieved in Iraq if there is an end to violence, terror and lawlessness...'.