KEY POINTS:
The European Union has welcomed the outcome of last week's meeting of Pacific foreign ministers who gathered to discuss the demise of democracy in Fiji.
The Delegation of the European Commission for the Pacific (DECP) today said they appreciated calls from the March 16 meeting to stop human rights abuses in Fiji, and for a working committee to help the country return to democracy.
The meeting of Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers was held in Vanuatu in response to events in Fiji following the December 5 military coup.
Since the military took over the country there have been widespread allegations of human rights violations and clampdowns on the media.
The foreign ministers called on Fiji to return to democracy within a maximum of two years and offered a staged process of engagement with the interim government to assist them.
"The Delegation of the European Commission for the Pacific welcomes the proposal for the setting-up of a joint working committee, to build the consensus between Fiji and its fellow Pacific partners on the road-map leading to a restoration of democratic rule in Fiji," the DECP statement said.
The DECP also welcomed moves for the Eminent Persons' Group, who drafted a report into the situation in Fiji, to remain active, and said the group created opportunities for dialogue with the country.
In wake of the coup, Europe has threatened to withdraw about 200 million euros ($382.48 million) of aid earmarked for Fiji between 2007 and 2013.
A meeting is planned in Brussels next month between the European Union and Fiji's interim government to discuss the situation in the Pacific nation.
- AAP
