The European Union utterly condemns the most recent incidents of violence in Sri Lanka, in particular the bombing of a bus that caused the deaths of dozens of innocent people and injured many more. This abhorrent act of violence, which marks the bloodiest attack on civilians since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002, is another clear violation of that Agreement.

---

The EU calls upon all parties to put an immediate end to violence and to return to the negotiation table with a view to strengthening the ceasefire and working towards a durable political solution of the conflict, so as to relieve the Sri Lankan people from the ordeal of twenty years of persistent conflict.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, 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, Serbia, and the EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.