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Fiji Television
Fri, 12 Mar 2010
SUVA, Fiji ---- The European Union (EU) has extended all its development assistance sanctions on Fiji by another six months, until October 2010.
This is the second time this has been done by the E-U.
Documents posted on its website, the E-U said “it has decided to extend the existing appropriate measures for Fiji....in order to create a window of opportunity for new consultations”.
A letter to this effect has been sent to President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.
Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Solo Mara said given that EU assistance is based on good governance principles, all agreed development assistance, are being put on hold pending the successful completion of negotiations on the return of Fiji to parliamentary democracy.
He said Fiji disagrees with this interpretation.
Mr Mara added assistance to the sugar industry was intended to offset the erosion of preferential access of ACP sugar, into the EU market and as such, was a development assistance programme that should have been exempted from the EU decision.
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