The European Union welcomes the lifting of the State of Emergency and the Provisional Constitutional Order on 15 December as important steps towards the return of constitutional order in Pakistan.
The EU urges President Musharraf to lift all restrictions on the media, imposed since 3 November 2007, to release all remaining political detainees and fully to respect the independence of the judiciary.
The European Union notes the assertion by President Musharraf that the elections for the National and Provincial Assemblies on 8 January 2008 will be free, fair and transparent. It urges the Pakistani authorities to ensure that all appropriate and timely measures are taken to comply with internationally recognized standards for free, fair and transparent elections.
The Candidate Countries 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, Azerbaijan 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.