President. As they deal with the same subject, the following questions will be taken together.

Question no 7 by Sajjad Karim (H-0089/07)

Subject: Zimbabwe

Current EU sanctions against Robert Mugabe’s regime end on 20 February 2007.

Following 'Operation Murambatsvina', the forced eviction of hundreds of thousands of people living in informal settlements across the country in 2005, the Zimbabwean Government has repeatedly hindered UN efforts to provide emergency shelter and subjected some of the most vulnerable people to repeated forced evictions.

Bearing this in mind, along with well-documented human rights abuses suffered by those who oppose Mr Mugabe’s regime, is the Council able to give assurances that the EU’s refusal to accept these violations will be demonstrated through a renewal of sanctions?

Question no 8 by Eoin Ryan (H-0169/07)

Subject: EU relations with Zimbabwe

Can the Council state what measures it is going to pursue against the Zimbabwean Government in light of the flagrant breach of human rights in this country? Is the Council aware that Zimbabwe is on the verge of famine and is the Council aware that the Government of South Africa has been supporting the Zimbabwean Government in both a political and economic sense over the past number of years?