Brussels, 19/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 19 June, the Twenty-Seven reiterated the importance they attach to stability and security in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in the region as a whole. In their conclusions, they stress the need to fight terrorism and to support the development of democratic institutions in Pakistan and a reinforcement of commercial relations with the country, for example by means of a free-trade agreement, but this is still a long-term prospect. On Afghanistan, they reiterated Europe's commitment to help to train the police forces and the strengthening of the rule of law, the objective remaining to deploy 400 trainers (currently 300). The European Council stresses the potential importance of the deployment of the European gendarmerie force within the recently-created training mission of NATO, as a "complimentary initiative" for building police capacity.
The Twenty-Seven condemned the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Iran. We call upon the Iranian authorities to verify that the elections and the results were legal. "We do not want to give the impression that foreign countries are taking charge of internal elections, but when you see violence and such incoherent results, Europe would not be standing by its values if it kept quiet (...). Europe is not prepared to accept everything. The fact that Iran has taken to the streets to call for greater transparency and more future is good news. We can only admire the will of the Iranian people when they express themselves with such courage", said Nicolas Sarkozy (our translation). The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, called the press to be allowed to do its job. "We are disappointed and very concerned about the liberty of the press", added the President of the Italian Council, Silvio Berlusconi.
The in Council welcomed the adoption of resolution 1874 the United Nations Security Council, which reinforces sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It calls on the Council and the Commission strictly to transpose this resolution to reinforce sanctions against the North Korean authorities. The DPRK is once again called upon to resume six-party talks.
On Burma/Myanmar, European Council calls for Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners to be freed immediately. Once again, it appeals for a genuine democratic transition. The Czech Presidency wanted the text to include a paragraph of 64 words (in English) which would constitute a telegram to the pro-democracy leader on the occasion of her 64th birthday. (O.J./A.N./M.B./trans.fl)