European Union Declaration on Cameroon

COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION
EN

Brussels, 27 March 2008
7832/1/08 REV 1 (Presse 84)
P 040/08
(OR. fr)

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union
on the situation in Cameroon

The European Union is watching closely the discussion concerning the revision of the Constitution, while noting that any changes to the Constitution have to be decided by the people and the institutions of Cameroon.

The European Union recalls that the Constitution adopted in 1996 was the outcome of political dialogue and the democratic expression of the will of the people. It emphasises the importance of the proposals for constitutional revision being subjected to a broad, free and open debate that involves all elements of Cameroonian society.

In this context, the European Union remains convinced that the possibility of a changeover of power, the freedom of the press and the guaranteeing of public freedoms are fundamental to the consolidation of democracy, and draws attention to the urgent need to improve the electoral system and the standard of voter turnout, these being guarantors of the stability that the country needs.


The European Union condemns the violence that occurred at the end of February and the attempts at ethnic manipulation that followed. It reiterates its support for Cameroon's economic and social development, with a particular orientation towards the weakest and most disadvantaged sections of the population.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.

Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/cfsp/99600.pdf