EU declaration by Catherine Ashton on the International Day of Democracy

On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy on 15 September 2010, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton in a Declaration on behalf of the European Union, emphasizes the importance of democratic values.

The support of Democracy, one of the founding principles of the EU, constitutes one of the core policy objectives of the EU’s External Policy, Ashton says. She also pays tribute to all democracy defenders throughout the world, especially those “who suffer threats, persecution, and even risk imprisonment and attempts to their lives whilst standing up for democracy and democratic principles”.

Ashton further stresses the interrelation between democracy, human rights, security, governance and sustainable development and points out that the EU nonetheless “does not believe that democracy can be exported or imposed, but democratic development and consolidation in third countries can be supported”.  The EU’s High Representative also expresses the EU’s desire to strengthen the coherence, consistency and efficiency of the different instruments through which democracy is supported.

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