Ethiopia denounced Thursday a joint statement issued by few Embassies in Addis Ababa on the occasion of World Press Day, and the country described the statement as it strayed from standard diplomatic protocol.
The denouncement came when Ethiopian Ministry of foreign affairs briefed media on this and more agendas.
Spokesperson of the Ministry, Nebiyu Tedla, said during the briefing that the extraordinary growth of both new and established digital media outlets is evidence of Ethiopia's government's commitment to upholding press freedom.
He underlined that Ethiopia welcomes constructive engagement with parties but resorting to paternalistic joint statement is unhelpful for the bilateral relations and it is discordant with acceptable diplomatic practice.
Nebiyou also explained the decision of the European Union Council on visa restrictions for Ethiopians.
Ethiopia has informed the European Union Council about the visa restriction decision regarding Ethiopians stating that the decision is unfair, he said.
The council decided that people from Ethiopia will have to wait 45 days instead of 15 days for their EU visa to be processed.
The restriction aims at deporting asylum seekers residing in European countries without the proper scrutiny, the spokesperson revealed.
Ethiopia noted the inappropriateness the visa restriction issued by the council, he said stating that Ethiopia was working with the Union by establishing a national committee to scrutinize the situation of citizens who are returning to the country after their cases have been investigated.
Ethiopia is ready to discuss the matter and find solutions based on international principles; the country also demands the EU to reverse the restriction, Nebiyou underscored.