EU High Representative Catherine Ashton made some comments following the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 14 April. Baroness Ashton said:
"We have had a long and very important Council meeting which began with discussion about the situation in Syria which I can only describe as appalling. We of course continue to support the efforts of Lakhdar Brahimi as he seeks to try moving forward in the political process. And we will continue in our diplomatic outreach on Syria, to ensure that all our partners remain engaged. We also want to insist that Security Council Resolution 2139 on humanitarian access should be fully implemented. This is part of the discussion that I have being having, as colleagues would know, in Egypt over the last few days as well.
We believe it is up to the regime to ensure tangible and long-lasting improvements in that situation, especially on humanitarian aid. We want to insure that the deadline for destruction of chemical weapons is kept to the 30th of June. This is of extreme importance. And we also recognise the importance of support for the neighbours of Syria. We want to help them as they manage, looking after refugees, and will continue with our aim in giving support to those countries as well as to the internally displaced people in Syria.
We also discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the socio-economic as well as political challenges they are facing. The first responsibility to deal with them lies with the leadership of the country and we call upon them to provide concrete and quick answers to the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the people. Ahead of October elections, more, not less, needs to be done.”