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EU to sign first Joint Political
Declaration with Iraq
The EU and Iraq will sign a joint political declaration
on 21 September in the margins of the UN General
Assembly in New York. This will be a significant
milestone in the development of EU-Iraq relations and
will set the framework for a comprehensive dialogue
covering a wide range of political issues. The
Commissioner for External Relations and European
Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, hailed the
new declaration, saying:
“The signing of this declaration will
be a major step towards closer partnership between
Europe and Iraq. It will pave the way for a Co-operation
Agreement between us to cover a wide range of trade and
development issues”.
She added:
”In discussions with Foreign
Minister Zebari here in New York, I have made clear that
the European Commission remains deeply committed to
supporting Iraq’s political and economic reconstruction,
and I have confirmed that preparations are under way for
the opening of a Commission Delegation office in
Baghdad”.
The Political Declaration, to be
signed tomorrow, contains the following elements:
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a statement that Iraq and EU
share the same goal of a secure, stable, unified,
prosperous and democratic Iraq, where human rights
are protected;
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a joint commitment to hold a
political dialogue in areas of mutual interest at
ministerial and senior official level;
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an agreement that the new
political dialogue will cover EU support to the
political transition process; promotion of good
governance; protection of human rights; rule of law
and democracy; non-proliferation and
counter-terrorism; conflict prevention and
resolution; as well as cultural issues.
To date the European Commission has
provided €518 million of assistance to Iraq, including
support for the rehabilitation of the provision of basic
services to respond to the most urgent needs of the
ordinary Iraqi people. As part of this assistance
package, the Commission is also supporting the
preparation of the constitutional referendum and is
mobilising €30 million for the preparation of the
December elections. Once a new, constitutionally
elected, Iraqi government is in place the Commission
looks forward to launching negotiations for a
contractual agreement with Iraq. |