On the occasion of the inauguration of Mr. Porfirio Lobo, the EU expresses its hope that his mandate will usher in a new era and the normalization of the relations of Honduras with the EU and the international community.  The EU wishes the Honduran people a peaceful and prosperous future and would like to see the country very soon reintegrated in the international community.

Throughout the last seven months, the EU has repeatedly stressed the need to solve the institutional crisis in Honduras by peaceful means and on the basis of an agreement among all actors. In this regard, the EU regrets the fact that the  Tegucigalpa/San José Accord was not fully implemented.

The EU welcomes the initiatives undertaken by Mr. Lobo prior to his inauguration, notably the recent signing of the Accord for National Reconciliation and for the Strengthening of Democracy in Honduras -which constitutes an important first step forward- and encourages him to promptly translate them into action. In particular, the EU urges Mr. Lobo to set in motion the process of effective national reconciliation, including the adequate and honourable solution for the status of the outgoing President, Mr. Zelaya, as well as the establishment without delay of the Truth Commission set out in the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord. In this respect, the EU remains committed to lend its support to the re-establishment of constitutional and democratic order and to the process of national reconciliation in Honduras.

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, 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.