New peace institute launched in Brussels

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Nine European foreign ministers launched Monday a new European Institute of Peace (EIP) with the aim to contribute to the global peace agenda. Sweden, Italy, Spain, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hungary and Poland have committed to funding the initiative for its first three years of operation with a budget of three million euro. The institute will be based in Brussels, Staffan de Mistura, Executive Director of EIP told a press conference at the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers meeting this evening. "The European Institute of Peace has the main objective to complement the global peace agenda of Europe and of the EU through operational mediation and informal dialogue with state and non state actors," said De Mistura, an Italian-Swedish diplomat who served in the UN for 40 years. On his part, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, told the joint press conference that the EPI was not an EU institution. "I want to stress that it is not an institution of the EU. It is an institution with a relationship with the EU but it also includes one country outside of it which is Switzerland that has an extensive experience in these issues," he added.