The EU has urged the Kazakhstani government to improve the observance of human rights, democracies and law in the country, and proposed to abolish the death penalty, the Kazakhstani Deputy Prime Minister reported. This announcement followed a meeting of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council. The EU has made a list of requirements that should be met by Kazakhstan if it seeks to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The list touches upon election legislation, freedom of press, freedom of political and non-government organizations as well as the independence of the judicial power. (RBC)