The European Union on Monday said it looked forward to the consolidation of India-Pakistan ties through the ongoing composite dialogue "in an atmosphere free from the menace of terrorism and violence".

The EU also said this should be in accordance to the January 6 joint statement issued in Islamabad after talks between the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as also the September 24 joint statement released out after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Musharraf in New York.

"We share the view that improved relations between India and Pakistan and closer regional integration in South Asia would be mutually reinforcing," it said.