EU plans to expand its work outside the Green Zone: diplomat

Shafaq News/ The European Union (EU) plans to expand its movement outside the walls of the Green Zone, the managing director of civil planning at the EU mission in Iraq, Stefano Tomat, said on Tuesday.

Tomat's remarks came during a press conference on the fifth anniversary of the European Advisory Mission in Iraq earlier today.

Tomat said that Iraq and the European Union had a history of cooperation that stretches back to 2005 when it helped in training Iraqi officials.

Adducing the long history of the EU's cooperation with Iraq, the diplomat ascribed Baghdad as a "center" and important part of the world.

Tomat said that the EU had helped Iraq in achieving progress, reforming security, and addressing challenges.

Stressing that the security sector cannot be reformed overnight, he said that Iraq should devise a national strategy for the upcoming years.

Tomat said that the EU continues to run the operations from Brussels, even though it established a headquarters in Erbil.

EU views Iraq as a state and it aspires to do more outside the Green Zone walls, he said, adding that its teams are present in all the Iraqi governorates.