German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday stated she viewed with "skepticism" a proposal Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez made to remove the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) from the European Union's list of terrorist organizations, adding that the decision depends on the EU.

"I am very skeptical about this issue," Merkel replied when asked about the matter, during her first news conference this year, Efe reported.

In Colombia "there are still many people missing," Merkel reminded, and that is "quite terrible," she stressed.

Merkel was replying to Chávez proposal to delete FARC from the list of terrorist groups -a proposal he made last Friday, following the release by the FARC on Thursday of Colombian politicians Clara Rojas and Consuelo González, who were in captivity for more than six years.