The seven-member delegation of the European Parliament led by Neena Gill that arrived in Nepal on Sunday for a weeklong visit is continuing their political consultations in Nepal.

The delegation is in Nepal to study the changed political picture of the country under coordination of South Asian affairs in-charge Lin Ghee.

The team held discussions with officials of Election Commission, Prime Minister’s Office, Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee and Peace Secretariat on Thursday. The team is also scheduled to hold discussions with officials at the American Embassy and the Asian Development Bank later today.

The European Parliament on 18 May 2006 voted a resolution welcoming Nepal’s return to democratic rule, supporting the steps taken towards a peace process and decided to send an ad hoc European Delegation to Nepal to assess the situation.

However officials at the European Union in Kathmandu said the team was not scheduled to meet the Maoist leaders.

The delegation is holding a press conference in Kathmandu on Friday, the last day of the visit, to inform about their recent study on Nepal’s political situation.

The leader of the delegation, Gill, has said that the government really needs to deal with the issues of law enforcement, something which has lately become critical, by being able to differentiate between criminal and political elements.

In an interview with the Kathmandu Post on Wednesday, Gill said that it shouldn’t be a problem including the Maoists in the government if they “give up armed struggle and start to establish norms of law and order”.