EU asks Nepal to adopt 'inclusive' constitution soon

The European Union today asked political leaders of Nepal to work constructively for the adoption of a democratic and inclusive constitution at the earliest.
"The EU Parliament Delegation has encouraged the political leaders of Nepal to work constructively for the adoption of a democratic and inclusive constitution," an official statement issued by the delegation said.
The four-member delegation which included Jean Lambert (UK), Chairperson, Cristian Dan Preda (Romania), Afzal Khan (UK) and Thomas Mann (Germany) held meetings with Nepal's top leadership including President Ram Baran Yadav, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Speaker of the Parliament Subhas Nemwang, UCPN-Maoist chairman Prachand and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli, during their four-day visit to Kathmandu.

"The EU Delegation has welcomed the resumption of talks and the assurance by the main political actors that they were ready to work actively to put an end to the current political stalemate and to further Nepal's national interest, progress and prosperity," the statement said.
"It is our clear view that it is important for this Constituent Assembly to complete its tasks and adopt a constitution at the earliest that meets the aspirations of the people of Nepal," Lambert said.
"This will lead to a successful conclusion of the peace process and pave way for economic and social development of the country," he added.

The EU Parliament Delegation also "expressed the long standing commitment of the European Union to support Nepal's ongoing efforts towards peace and prosperity," the statement said.

"This reflected not only in tripling of EU development assistance but also in the close ties maintained by the EU and the people of Nepal in many different fields," it added.
Nepal's ruling and opposition parties are sharply divided on key issues in the Constitution-drafting process including federal structure and forms of governance.
Opposition parties are also demanding an ethnic identity-based federal structure in the new Constitution which was initially supposed to be promulgated by January 22.