Declaration by the EU Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the bombing of the Imam Ali-Hadi mosque in Samarra

The European Union condemns the criminal and sacrilegious bombing of the Imam Ali-Hadi Mosque in Samarra on 22 February which has provoked sectarian strife. It undermines peace and stability with the risk of derailing the political process in Iraq.

This horrendous attack on one of the holiest Shiite religious sites in Iraq, which is not only a place holy to Shiite worshippers but part of the national cultural heritage of all Iraqis, and the loss of life in the subsequent retaliatory events show the urgent need for all communities in Iraq for maximum restraint.

The European Union strongly supports calls by Iraqi political and religious leaders for restraint and non-retaliation and urges Iraq to come together in a spirit of dialogue and mutual respect as the indispensable basis for national reconciliation.

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 Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration."

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• EU External Relations Council Conclusions on Iraq (27/2/2006)
• EUHR Solana condemns attack on Al-Askari Holy Shrine in Samarra (23/2/2006)