European Union will remain committed partner to KRG: EU diplomat

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The European Union will remain a committed partner to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the people of the Kurdistan Region, an EU diplomat in Erbil said on Monday.

Clarisse Pásztory, the Head of the EU’s Liaison Office in Erbil, made the comments in a New Year’s message to the people of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the Middle East.

Pásztory said she hopes 2019 is “a happy new year, a peaceful new year, a healthy new year, a common new year, a new year where we are going to overcome issues, work together for the best of the people of Iraq and of Kurdistan.”

She added that the European Union is a committed partner to the KRG, and is “here to stay.”

The EU diplomat expressed her hope that politicians in Baghdad and Erbil would “understand the mandates they have received during the recent elections” in both Iraq and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

Pásztory noted that reforms in the KRG, in particular, have already started and have been successful, but she said they need to continue.

My hope is that politicians will continue “to work for the people, to improve services, to create jobs, to continue and accelerate the reforms,” she added.

“We are looking forward to continue working with the government of Iraq and with the government of Kurdistan on all of these issues that are important for each and every individual.”