Brussels, 23/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - During a visit to Bogota, Colombia, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove of Belgium said, on Wednesday 22 July, that any support by Ecuador or Venezuela for the Colombian guerrilla movement, FARC (revolutionary armed forces of Colombia), would give cause for concern. “This would be a very serious problem”, he said, as reported in the daily El Tiempo, pointing out that the situation should first of all be confirmed by an independent source, as “support for terrorism is something that the international community cannot accept”. Such declarations come after the recent diffusion in Colombia of a video in which the FARC military leader, Mono Jojoy, speaks of the “dollars paid” for the campaign of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, and relations with Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela. Mr de Kerchove said that, as far as the European Union is concerned, FARC is a “terrorist group” that commits criminal acts. Although the FARC is not a direct threat for the Union's internal security, it is an indirect threat because of drug trafficking, he said. He also announced that the EU would strengthen the exchange of information on FARC activities outside Colombia, saying: “That is where international cooperation must be reinforced, information and intelligence exchange”. Mr de Kerchove pointed out that the EU had included three Colombian illegal armed organisations on its terrorist list: - FARC, ELN and AUC. “If someone supports these groups, for Europe that is a violation of legality”, he said. The counter-terrorism coordinator also announced that the EU Council of Ministers had authorised cooperation between Colombia and Europol, to allow the exchange of information and personal data. “I am gong to ask the director of Europol to arrange some meetings in the offices of Europol in the Hague to talk bout FARC's activities in foreign countries”, he said. He went on to acknowledge the success of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's “Democratic Security Policy”. As far as eradication of coca crop policies are concerned, Gilles de Kerchove stated that the “EU does not support air spraying. It supports manual eradication and alternative crops”. He went on to explain that the Colombian president had asked him to send a message to Europe so that the EU increases its support to Colombia to develop alternative eradication methods. Regarding the drug transportation route in West Africa, Mr de Kerchove explained that, in coming months, there would be an operative agreement between the European Police Office (Europol) and Colombian forces for information exchange. (B.C./transl.jl)