EU delegation urges Ethiopia to accept border ruling, Eritrean radio

ASMARA, April 6, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, who headed an EU delegation to Eritrea, has said the EU believed that the verdict by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) must be implemented, the Eritrean radio reported.

At a news conference he held today after talks with President Isayas Afewerki on the Eritrea-Ethiopia peace process, Mr Cowen said the fact that Eritrea had accepted the EEBC’s decision showed that it had a clear position on the issue, and called on Ethiopia to do the same.

Noting that he had held constructive talks with President Isayas, Mr Cowen said Eritrea had reservations about the manner in which the international community handled the issue, and he could understand the basis for the reservations.

Cowen made it clear that the international community would only facilitate the demarcation of border, but not open negotiations to adjust the final and binding ruling. The Irish minister said he himself shared Eritrea’s firm position that the EEBC’s decision was final and binding and should be implemented without any delay.

For her part, Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation Ms Agnes van Ardenne disclosed that she was dismayed by the international community’s failure to take decisive measures to reduce the military and financial aid to Ethiopia. She said: We are trying to persuade the Ethiopian government and put pressure on it to accept and implement the border ruling.

The EU delegation held a one-and-half-hour-long talks with President Isayas Afewerki this morning before leaving for Ethiopia for similar talks. Foreign Minister Ali Sayyid Abdallah also attended the talks. The Netherlands will soon takeover the EU presidency from Ireland.