EU to continue engaging with govt and stakeholders in Bangladesh prior to election: Josep Borell

The European Union and its Member States will continue to engage closely with the Government and all stakeholders in Bangladesh on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, said High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

"Bangladesh has invited the EU to observe the elections. The EU highly appreciates this invitation and, as a first step, it will undertake an exploratory mission to the country to assess the advisability, usefulness and feasibility of an Electoral Observation Mission," says Josep Borell in a letter sent to European Union's Member of Parliament Ivan Stefanec in response to a letter sent by six MEPs who expressed concerns over the human rights situation in Bangladesh.

The letter was delivered on Thursday (6 July) and MEP Ivan Stefanec will review its contents thoroughly and respond accordingly, taking into consideration the points raised by High Representative Borrel, confirmed Veronika Priecelova, parliamentary assistant of MEP to TBS.

Josep, also the vice-president of the European Commission, in his letter says, the EU encourages all parties and all citizens in Bangladesh to exercise their political rights and participate in the parliamentary elections. It is for all stakeholders to build confidence in the election process.

Safeguarding the key freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, is essential for democratic processes, he says. Violence, on the other hand, has no place in these processes and should be avoided at all costs.

"We have a constant dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh. As you rightly mention, we held the EU-Bangladesh Joint Commission and the Subgroup on Good Governance and Human Rights in May 2022. Human rights, democracy and rule of law are integral parts of the EU's values and policies and we therefore regularly raise these issues with Bangladesh outside the format of the Joint Commission and its subgroups too," reads the letter.

Previously, in a letter issued on 13 June, expressing concerns over the human rights situation in Bangladesh six European Union MPs asked Josep Borrell to take necessary measures while engaging in constant dialogue with Bangladesh authorities on the Human Rights agenda.

The potential measures sought against Bangladesh included restriction of entry into the EEA zone of those responsible for and complicit in the human rights abuses and issuance of regular reminding of the conditions for the GSP+ incentive, according to the copy of the letter obtained by The Business Standard.