12/07/2011
The EU member states congratulated the people of South Sudan on their independence and said they encouraged the country's leaders "to embrace pluralism and diversity and lay the foundation for a democratic, fair and inclusive society, based on the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms".
South Sudan formally parted from the Republic of Sudan on Saturday 9 July. In the capital of Juba an official ceremony marked the birth of the new nation, the world's 193rd country.
Many representatives of the international community attended the ceremony, including Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and several ministers from EU member states.
EU support
Since 2005, the EU has committed development assistance of over 650 million euro. Humanitarian aid since 2003 amounts to 776 million euro. The EU is now scaling up its support. In May 2011, EU foreign affairs ministers agreed to allocate an additional 200 million euro to a development plan for 2011-2013 for projects in education, health, agriculture, food security and democratic governance. The current EU delegation in Juba, open since 2009, will be upgraded as soon as possible.
Tremendous challenges ahead
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 which included the January referendum on independence, is about to expire but many problems remain.
Violence in South Kordofan, the future status of Abyei, the sharing of revenues from oil - these are some issues that need resolving.
Other difficult questions must also be tackled.
How to manage a region that has not changed for centuries and which has been devastated by 21 years of war, with no infrastructure, no access to water and no hospitals?
How to create citizenship and build a nation where ancestral tribal feudes hold sway?
More information:
Declaration by the EU and its member states (pdf)
Remarks by the EU High Representative (pdf)
Video: South Sudan Referendum - EU Election Observation Mission