The European Union ambassador in South Sudan has called on the revitalized government of national unity to expedite the reconstitution of the legislature, the formation of state governments, and implementation of the security agreements per the peace deal.

While addressing the National dialogue in Juba on Saturday, Ambassador Christian Bader said the implementation of the above issues would make governance run smoothly paving way for the full implementation of the peace deal.

“More importantly, the Revitalized Legislative Assembly has to be formed without any further delay, in order to make possible both the routine governance decisions – such as a long-delayed national budget- and the important reforms foreseen by the peace agreement,” he said.

Bader who hailed the National Dialogue as an important initiative to open up discussion among communities also highlighted the importance of dialogue with those with different opinions and identities. 

He said, that despite the efforts to stabilize the country, the EU remains concerned about inter-communal violence across the country.

“One of our main concerns is the continuous spread of local violence, with civilians as the most numerous victims and even including with frightening frequency the humanitarian workers. The parties are still accepting defections of commanders from the other side, often accompanied by violent clashes. Nobody, neither here in Juba nor elsewhere, will gain from keeping up the widespread localized violence in South Sudan,” he added.

The ambassador further noted that the international community will work with the government to address the current economic crisis in the country. “We encourage the government to continue their efforts on Public Finance Management and to decide and implement the necessary reforms,” he said. 

He tasked the government to implement security and financial reforms to be eligible for development aid amid the Covid 19 pandemic.

"Decisions will be taken in the next weeks in Brussels and in the European capitals on which of our partner countries will deserve the investment of our taxpayers. Only the concrete advancement on the long-awaited reforms in the coming weeks can allow myself and my Team Europe colleagues from the Member States to convince EU taxpayers that their dwindling money would be well invested in South Sudan," he asserted.

Ambassador Bader was speaking on behalf of the ambassadors of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden.