Mr President, on 16 March, this Parliament adopted a resolution on the presidential and legislative elections in Peru, in which it expressed its confidence, within the context of cooperation in our relations with Peru, that the presidential and legislative elections would be held in a fair and transparent manner, in accordance with the universally held principles of democratic systems. Parliament called for the consolidation and the deepening of the rule of law in Peru and for democratic maturity from the Peruvian institutions. After the irregularities in the first round which took place in April, Parliament decided to send a delegation of observers from this House to the vote on 28 May. Since the deficiencies and irregularities noted by different independent organisations, both Peruvian and international, had not been put right, and after the withdrawal of Mr Toledo, one of the two candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, the delegation from the European Parliament decided not to carry out its mission in those circumstances. The Presidency of the European Union, in its declaration of 9 June this year, expressed its enormous concern at the irregularities and anomalies detected. Despite the fluid relations which the European Union maintains with Peru, which are embodied in the cooperation agreement with the Andean Pact which has been in force since 1998, we should remember once again that these very relations are based on the universally recognised principles of respect for pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights. On the basis of these principles, the European Union must carefully assess the necessary response to this delicate situation resulting from the elections of 28 May. The Council of Ministers of the European Union, in its declaration of 9 June, has decided not to adopt sanctions against Peru at the moment. The meeting of chancellors of the Organisation of American States in Ottawa, having heard the report of the electoral mission headed by Eduardo Stein, has decided to send a new mission, which will include the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States, in order to ensure that the Government of Peru is adopting the necessary measures to re-establish democratic legality. The OAS has not adopted sanctions against Peru at the moment either. Finally, the candidate, Mr Toledo, during his visit to various countries of the European Union and to the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (incidentally, it would have been desirable for him to have met with Members of this Parliament during his visit to Brussels), expressed on several occasions the importance of preserving and maintaining economic cooperation and aid from the European Union to the Peruvian people. In this regard, and before making any decisions – and this is one of the key points of our resolution –, we should, Commissioner, send a high level European Union mission which could, after meeting with all the political forces and with representatives of civil society, make an assessment of the situation on the ground in the light of the democratic clause, which is an essential element of the agreement between the European Union and Peru. This mission seems to me to be particularly appropriate since the European Union is the main provider of development aid and economic cooperation, and it is also the main investor in Peru. Mr President, since you have asked us not to take up the time allotted, and in summary, I will say that one of the main contributions which the European Union could make in this difficult situation – and I believe there is good reason, as I have just pointed out, not to leave the matter exclusively in the hands of the Organisation of American States – should be, in my opinion, to promote, on the basis of a guarantee of the full exercise of all civil and political rights, a consensus amongst all the forces which would allow democracy to be recovered, strengthened and deepened in Peru.

Political group: PPE-DE