"Zimbabweans should be allowed to choose their future freely," EU leaders affirmed yesterday in a strong declaration on the elections which warned of the Union's willingness to increase sanctions against individuals responsible for violence.
The statement referred to violence, intimidation and curbs on the activities of NGOs, and regretted the refusal of the regime of president Robert Mugabe to allow EU monitors to supervise the second round of the presidential elections on June 27th. It urged the South African Development Community to deploy full teams of observers as soon as possible.
The summit backed the admission of Slovakia to the eurozone, its 11th member, from January 2009.
The EU also threatened Sudanese officials with more sanctions unless it agrees to cooperate on war crimes with the International Criminal Court.
Overcoming human rights-based reservations by Sweden and the Czech Republic to the final lifting of sanctions against Cuba, the summit agreed to make permanent a 2005 decision to end the isolation of the island. Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Martin expressed the hope that the move would contribute to continuing democratisation.
Leaders called on the Burmese authorities to remove all restrictions on the distribution of humanitarian aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and reiterated their desire to see a genuine transition to democracy in the country.
The summit also backed plans for closer ties to the Union's eastern neighbours. The move follows more ambitious plans for the Mediterranean region and will see new areas of coopeation opened up with Ukraine, Moldova , Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Belarus, widely criticised for its totalitarian rule, can also share in the process if and when it undertakes domestic reform.