High Representative Federica Mogherini condemned the murder of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh but also reiterates the European position against death penalty and a need that rights of prisoners be respected. EU remains determined to fight terrorism, she said in a statement.

The violence in Eastern Ukraine needs to stop, artillery should immediately be withdrawn from residential areas, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini said in a statement and joined the call by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on all actors in and around the Debaltseve area to establish a local temporary truce for a minimum of three days.

In 2014, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU is expected to have reached a new peak of around 2.7 billion nights, up by 1.7% compared with 2013. France and Spain are top EU tourism destinations in terms of tourism nights.

After the murder of Japan reporter Kenji Goto High Representative Federica Mogherini expressed condolences to the family and people of Japan and vowed EU’s continuing fight against terrorism groups in Syria and Iraq.

Following information on serious accusations against Macedonian opposition leader Zoran Zaev and three more people, EU recalls a need to respect their rights, including presumption of innocence, urging that the international standards are met in the investigation, the spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council, at an extraordinary session, strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of Mariupol and the escalation of fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Council agreed to extend existing restrictive measures, targeting currently 132 persons and 28 entities over action against Ukraine’s territorial integrity, until September 2015.

The European Union welcomes the announcement of an agreement by the BiH Presidency on the Written Commitment to undertake reforms in the framework of the EU Accession Process, the spokesperson of High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

The EU has pledged an amount of €175 million for the period 2016-2020 to support GAVI Alliance to gather the necessary funds to be able to immunise another 300 million children. That is more than double the amount committed in the previous period.

EU Member States’ leaders expressed concern about the deterioration security and humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, urging Russia to condemn the separatists’ actions and to implement the Minsk agreements.