EU Forces in the World
October 2, 2006
The EU delegates tried to broker a peace deal in Sudan at the weekend, with President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso heading mission to Sudan.
Barosso urged Sudanese President al-Bashir to support the African Union peacekeepers in the country and promised a further 40 million euros ($50.96 million).
Speaking at a press conference in El-Fasher -- the capital of the war torn province of Darfur -- Barroso told reporters of the urgent situation.
"The status quo is not sustainable, indeed is not acceptable," Barroso said. "Our agenda is peace, there is no other agenda."
Sudan resists international assistance
The conflict in Sudan, which began in 2003, has killed some 200,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has so far resisted calls for a beefed up UN force to replace the 7,000 under-funded and badly equipped African Union soldiers.
Efforts to win agreement from al-Bashir for a 20,000-strong UN military force in Darfur are at a standstill.
Al-Bashir on Saturday repeated his refusal to allow UN troops into Darfur, accusing the United States of pursuing a hidden agenda and saying a UN force would likely constitute a Trojan horse.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has already called on Sudan to accept the UN mission or face confrontation with the international community.
However, speaking after his meeting with Bashir on Saturday, Jose Manuel Barosso said western nations must understand Sudan rejected the UN force and compromise, in order to find a workable formula before the African Union mission ends on Dec. 31.
"We need to work together so that we can have real peace in Darfur," Barosso said. "This is our concern (and)… in the European Union and in the international community.
"Most importantly to understand the points made by the president of Sudan and I also conveyed to him very frankly and very open-mannered our concerns about the situation."
Aid workers and analysts have said violence in Darfur has worsened since a peace agreement was signed in May between the government and one rebel faction.
The governor of North Darfur denies this, saying the situation had improved and international troops are not wanted.
Congo, Kosovo security strategy on EU agenda
As well as the EU's efforts to develop a peace agreement in Darfur, talks between international defense ministers began on Monday to address calls for an extension of military missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kosovo.
With Finnish Defense Minister Seppo Kaariainen in the chair, ministers discussed a possible EU police mission in Kosovo and the future of the bloc's current operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The United Nations envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari as well as EU chief diplomat Javier Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer attended the meeting.
Kaariainen, whose country currently holds EU presidency, also invited General Karlheinz Viereck, the operation commander of the EU Congo mission, to brief ministers on the operation and challenges related to it.
Asked if the EU was ready to extend its 2,000-strong DR Congo operation beyond the current Dec. 1 deadline, Kaariainen told reporters, "It is impossible to say today."
Analysts say the current December deadline for the troops' return is too soon after the scheduled announcement of results of the second round of voting on Oct. 29 between the two candidates, President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
There are fears of a resurgence of violence if EU soldiers leave Congo too early.