EU suspends Colombia fund after shock vote

The European Union announced Wednesday it would suspend a development fund earmarked for Colombia, following a referendum in which voters rejected a peace deal with the FARC rebel group.

The bloc had set aside roughly 600 million euros to help Bogota uphold a historic peace accord that sought to end half a century of conflict with the Marxist guerrillas.

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"Obviously in the current situation we cannot continue with the launch of this fund," minister Ivan Korcok of Slovakia, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, told the European Parliament.

But he insisted that "EU engagement in the Colombian peace process will carry on," adding that 11 countries had committed to the proposed fund.