EU praises commitments by Iraqi government to promote reforms

The European Union has welcomed the commitments made by the Iraqi government to promote reforms in political, security, economic and social fields.

In a statement issued by the External Relations session of the EU Council that opened here on Monday, the Council said the implementation of the "ambitious commitments" made by Baghdad in the "International Compact for Iraq", which was endorsed on May 3, will be crucial in developing cooperation between Iraq and all its international partners.

"Progress towards these targets will help to further enhance the EU's engagement with Iraq," said the Council, adding that it "underlines its appreciation for the UN's continued assistance to Iraq including in the Compact process."

The External Relations session of the Council of the EU, with the participation of EU foreign and defense ministers, will last two days, with a range of issues on its agenda, including Iraq, Somalia, the Mideast peace process, Iran and the preparations for the EU-Russia summit due to take place later this week in Russia.

The Council also noted that the results of the May 3-4 Iraq conference in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh "are encouraging and hopefully will contribute to an improvement of the situation in Iraq."

Meanwhile, the EU Council welcomed the Ministerial Conference of Iraq's Neighboring Countries with international participation, including the EU.

"The international community, and in particular the states in the region, have a responsibility to support and promote the difficult process of national reconciliation and stabilization in Iraq, and to prevent outside interference that could undermine this process," it said in the statement.

While expressing the hope that the conference will give rise to a long-term process of regional confidence-building through dialogue and co-operation, the Council also stressed the importance of an effective and result-oriented follow-up mechanism, including the early convening of the agreed working groups on security, refugees and energy in Iraq.

"The European Union is ready to assist and provide expertise in this process," said the statement.