Brussels, 22/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU will not be withdrawing the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC) from its black list of terrorist organisations, Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said after a meeting with the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, on Tuesday 22 January in Brussels. After playing an active role in the release, on 10 January, of two FARC hostages, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had asked the EU to no longer consider the FARC as terrorists. “Our response is 'no'. There is no reason for us to change our position on this”, Mr Solana told the press, stressing, however, that Mr Uribe had the EU's “total support” in his fight against the rebels. Mr Uribe said he supported the mediation efforts of the Catholic Church of France, Spain and Switzerland to gain release of the hostages. He is also seeking the EU's assistance so that an international medical mission may be sent to visit the hostages. Furthermore, Alvaro Ulribe met the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, on Tuesday. Mr Barroso expressed the EU's “solidarity” with the hundreds of hostages held by the FARC, calling for their “immediate and unconditional release”. (H.B.)