MANILA, Philippines -- Responsibility for solving the extrajudicial killings that have claimed hundreds of lives in the country lies with the government, the European Union said Thursday.

“The responsibility [for solving the killings] lies on the shoulders of the Philippine government,” Javier Solana, the EU’s chief foreign policy official, told reporters after the 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.

Solana said he had discussed the killings, which human rights groups have claimed more than 860 lives since 2001 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power, with Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo.

The killings, which many quarters, including United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston and the Malacañang-created Melo commission, have attributed mainly to state security forces, have brought increasing international scrutiny and criticism on the Arroyo government.

The EU envoy said he had been informed of the recommendations drawn up during a recent summit on the killings called by the Supreme Court.

The EU is giving the government technical assistance to improve the capability of various agencies and branches to solve the killings.

“We have been working with the government, but the government is responsible to solve this problem, not us. We are only helping. We were asked to help and give technical assistance,” Solana said.

Asked if the EU is satisfied with developments, Solana said: “We have to see how it is. It’s the process. This is just the beginning.”

Solana said the tensions in Mindanao, where the EU is involved in peace initiatives, were not discussed in his meeting with Romulo.

While he welcomed a reprieve on the start of punitive actions against the killers of 14 Marines in Basilan, Solana acknowledged that “it does not mean that the [subsequent] events will not be negative,” thus the importance of the “framework of the ceasefire [to be] maintained.”