The European Union regrets that in recent days representatives of the international community, and most recently Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, were not authorized by the Government of Sudan to visit Darfur. The humanitarian situation in Darfur requires sustained action by the international community. USG Egeland has an important role to play in that respect.

The European Union is committed to providing adequate support and funding for humanitarian activities. It recalls the need for humanitarian actors in the field to be given free access by all actors concerned.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, 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, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

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

Ref: PESC/06/56