madam president firstly i would like to underline the commission's great concern at the current volatile situation in madagascar
i would also like to stress the commission's continued commitment to the malagasy people
the situation in that country after the forced removal of president ravalomanana on seventeen march deserves and requires our full attention and like the european parliament the commission is following events very closely
the commission has fully endorsed the czech presidency statement issued on behalf of the european union on twenty march condemning the transfer of power and calling on the malagasy parties to comply fully with the provisions of the constitution of madagascar
the commission considers that there has been a flagrant violation of essential elements of the cotonou agreement and that this is a case of special urgency within the meaning of article ninety-six of that agreement
the commission has therefore launched the procedure to propose to the council to open consultation with the authorities in power in order to examine possible solutions to the crisis aimed at the re-establishment of constitutional order
the commission will continue to use all the dialogue means it has at its disposal to find an overall solution to the current crisis
to that end it is enhancing the political dialogue based on article eight of the cotonou agreement with all the relevant stakeholders in madagascar
it is also participating in the main international efforts deployed notably in the framework of the international contact group set up recently by the african union
at this stage the prevailing view is that the relevant malagasy political stakeholders agree on a road map for a return to constitutional order and the holding of elections
