EU wants clarification on election monitors

The European Union has asked for clarification from Zimbabwe on whether the government will allow EU observers to next year's presidential elections, a senior European official told IRIN on Tuesday.

"We would like an indication of their position. It is not an ultimatum, but it would be very helpful if we had it by the end of this week," Roger Moore, the head of the European Commission's southern African desk said.

He told IRIN that Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge was in Brussels on Monday on a flying visit to meet with his Belgian counterpart to discuss good governance issues, before returning to Harare to welcome Commonwealth ministers due in Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission on the land crisis this week. Belgium currently holds the EU presidency.

According to Moore, the EU has chosen to focus on the issue of democracy in Zimbabwe. He said that more than 200 European observers monitored the country's controversial parliamentary elections in June last year, and the EU was watching "very closely" the run-up to Zimbabwe's presidential poll, amid widespread concerns over the potential for voter intimidation and political violence.

He told IRIN that discussions on Zimbabwe within the EU had revolved around the best framework for political dialogue with the government. The Cotonou Agreement - that links developing countries to the EU - contains fundamental good governance benchmarks. If they are violated, the agreement has provisions for a robust response from the EU under Article 96 that could include sanctions.

"If we feel that [the tenets of Cotonou] are being seriously violated then we have the obligation to start consultations under Article 96," Moore said, in reference to concerns over the fairness of the upcoming elections.

EU aid, administered by the European Commission, has already been cut "quite dramatically" over the last few years, Moore added. With all balance-of-payments support frozen, what is currently funded are education and health sector programmes to "prevent their total collapse".