EU. The European Union exercises maximum diplomacy with everybody during crises. This is the natural role of the EU in support of peace, security and democracy, said the High Representative Federica Mogherini.
“This is the feature of the European Union engagement worldwide and in the region,” Mogherini said. “It is true, sometimes you do not have the results you would dream of. But sometimes you have to ask yourselves, what if we did not do this? Maybe the results on the ground would be even worse if there was not a power like the European Union and the Member States engaged in maximum diplomacy also to counterbalance some other attitudes that we see growing in the world – more confrontational ones, if I can say so,” she added.
The High Representative mentioned the democratic transition in Sudan as a good story and a positive example.
“We always tackle crises that seem impossible to be solved. In this case we have a good story that could represent not only success in itself, but also an inspiration for the rest of the region, for Africa, for the Arab world, and for our world in general,” Mogherini said. The High Representative and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs had a working lunch with the Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok during which they exchanged views on the most pressing needs on which the EU is going to accompany the civilian and democratic transition of the country. The EU announced Monday an additional financial support amounting to EUR 55 Million to Sudan for humanitarian aid.
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The High Representative stressed the role the EU plays and can further play in supporting peace processes, democratic transition and security. The HRVP and the ministers discussed their readiness to support a genuine intra-Afghan peace process and a Gulf security initiative that sees the region and the regional actors as the key drivers.
“We believe that there is enough awareness today in the region to understand that an escalation would be detrimental to everybody’s interests and also to European security. We had an open discussion about how we can contribute to this in the coming months,” Mogherini said. It is not for the EU to launch an initiative that would need to be region-lead and owned, but it is for the European Union to offer support and accompany such initiative. “The European Union and European Member States have a significant experience on how to live together in a peaceful manner and in a cooperative manner, even when tensions arise,” Mogherini added.