EU’s Foreign Affairs Council backed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s peace plan and plans to stabilise the country, High Representative Catherine Ashton said after the meeting, attended also by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
“All the Ministers supported the plan as a major opportunity for de-escalation of the situation and called on all sides to honour a ceasefire and create the conditions needed for the implementation of this plan. We called in particular on Russia to support the plan and use its influence to ensure its implementation,” Ashton said after the meeting.
“We want to see the spiral of violence ending and we called on all sides to do their maximum to protect civilians and to let humanitarian organisations do their job,” she added.
The Council adopted several concrete decisions, including to prohibit the import of goods from Crimea to the European Union without Ukrainian certificates, in accordance with EU’s policy not to recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea.
The ministers also agreed to establish a Security and Defense (CSDP) mission “to assist Ukraine in the field of civilian security sector reform, including police and rule of law. Steps will now be taken in order to enable early deployment of the mission during the summer,” Ashton said.
“Finally, we completed the preparatory work necessary for the full signature of the Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with Ukraine which will as you know take place on 27 June in Brussels, together with the signing of agreements with Moldova and Georgia. We are very much looking forward to this,” she added.
The ministers expressed concern about the sentences to Al Jazeera journalists and those pronaunced in absentia against a number of European journalists, Ashton said, adding that the Council has “also expressed great concern about the death sentences against more than 180 people in Minya and the recent decision by the court in Giza to start the process of imposing death sentences against 14 leading figures from Islamist movements.”
The Council also expressed a great concern on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq, both over security and humanitarian issues.
“We are doing all we can to help, and we already made available 12 million euros in humanitarian assistance.
EU ministers remain firmly committed to Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is essential for the stability of the whole region. And together with our international partners, we will continue to support the Iraqi authorities in their fight against terrorism,” Ashton said.
Full remarks by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton following the Foreign Affairs Council: http://www.eeas.europa.eu/statements/docs/2014/140623_03_en.pdf
Results of the Foreign Affairs Council: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/143347.pdf
