The DRC and the EU

The European Union is very concerned at the continuing clashes in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and their consequences for the humanitarian situation.

The European Union firmly condemns the recent statements by Laurent Nkunda calling for the overthrow of the elected and legitimate government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and calls on the CNDP to return immediately and unconditionally to the peace process to which it committed itself in Goma in January.

The European Union repeats its conviction that no military solution can resolve the current crisis in the Kivus and that the Goma and Nairobi processes are the sole, suitable frameworks that can restore a climate of confidence and bring long-term stability to the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The European Union reaffirms its support for the Congolese authorities in their efforts to find a political solution to the crisis and calls on all the parties concerned to respect the ceasefire, to implement the disengagement plan prepared by MONUC and to commit themselves unreservedly and unconditionally to implementing the commitments entered into in Goma and Nairobi.

The European Union recalls the need for a sustained effort to put an end to the activities of foreign armed groups operating in the east of the DRC and, concerning the DLFR, encourages the authorities of the Republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to step up their cooperation to that end.

The European Union reiterates its support for international facilitation and the action taken by MONUC on the ground, in difficult circumstances, to assist civilian populations.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

The French EU presidency website