Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-01-20-Speech-4-124"
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"en.20000120.8.4-124"2
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"Mr President, the Commission, the presidency and the Member States have expressed their grave concern about the dissolution of the public and legal institutions that followed the military coup. The European Union was already closely monitoring the development of the situation in the Côte d’Ivoire in the light of the arrest and imprisonment of the opposition leaders, the warrant for the arrest of Mr Ouattara, the development of inter-ethnic tensions and the deterioration in the economic situation.
Today, our prime objective is to encourage a rapid return to the rule of law and to the normal operation of democratic institutions. With this in mind, the Commission has decided to start the consultation procedure provided for in Article 366 bis of the Lomé Convention. This procedure is the same as that applied last year in respect of Niger and Guinea-Bissau. The Council approved this proposal. The Commission and the Council sent the relevant invitation to the Côte d’Ivoire. The Côte d’Ivoire authorities have a period of two weeks in which to reply to this invitation. After that, these consultations should be concluded within one month. The European Parliament will be kept informed about the progress of these consultations.
The aims of these consultations will be as follows: to make a detailed assessment of the situation in the Côte d’Ivoire, to stress the importance that the European Union attaches to respect for the essential aspects of Article 5 of the Lomé convention, that is to say, respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights, to establish in detail the intentions of the Côte d’Ivoire to ensure that these essential aspects are respected, and to arrive at an agreement on the measures that will be taken to remedy the breaches of these essential aspects. The Commission and the Council are preparing these consultations, but I can already tell you that our aim is to obtain a firm commitment from the Côte d’Ivoire authorities to a return to constitutional order and the announcement of a timetable for this transition.
If, however, the results of these consultations are not satisfactory, the European Union has the possibility at that time of taking the appropriate measures, including, if necessary, the complete or partial suspension of cooperation with this country. Up to now, no proposal has been made to end cooperation, as we wish to avoid penalising the people. This being the case, for the moment, no new financing decision will be approved, with the exception of humanitarian aid projects in favour of the most disadvantaged people.
In conclusion, I can assure you that the Commission is attaching the greatest importance to the consultations that will be started in the next few days with the Côte d’Ivoire. It will continue to follow closely the development of the situation in this country and the respect for human rights, and the European Parliament will be informed accordingly."@en1
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