India, EU for strong measures against terrorism

new delhi: sharing concern over the threat posed by terrorism to peace and security, india and the european union (eu) on friday sought "decisive measures" against all states which harbour and finance terrorists. at the end of the second india-eu summit, the two sides signed a declaration against international terrorism which asserted that "there can be no religious, ethnic, ideological or any other justification of terrorism".prime minister atal bihari vajpayee, who led the indian delegation at the summit, later told a joint press conference, "we agreed that terrorism anywhere and in any form, must be rooted out resolutely". india and the european union also agreed to support the un process to promote peace, stability and reconstruction in afghanistan and in the establishment of an "independent and forward-looking" regime in kabul. new delhi hoped that the meeting of afghan leaders in bonn slated for monday "will succeed", prime minister atal bihari vajpyee told a joint press conference at the end of the second india-eu summit. he hoped there will be an agreement on issues which confront afghanistan -- relief, rehabilitation and formation of a government that is broad-based, representing all ethnic groups, independent and forward-looking". sharing his view, belgian prime minister guy verhofstadt, who is also president of the european council, said the new regime in afghanistan must take into account the "legitimate" security interests countries concerned.the eu side was represented by guy verhofstadt, belgian prime minister and president of the european council and romano prodi, president of the european commission. asked by a foreign correspondent how india reconciled to pakistan being a part of the international coalition while being accused of sponsoring cross-border terrorism in kashmir, vajpayee said, "that is true. terrorist activities are still continuing despite pakistan becoming a member of the coalition. we would like this cross-border terrorism to stop completely". the prime minister hoped "this will happen as early as possible". significantly, the belgian prime minister said that the eu "fully backed" india's initiative of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism at the un.