Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-31-Speech-3-092"
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"en.20010131.5.3-092"2
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".
Madam President, I would like very briefly to try to add some more specific elements, from a political point of view, to the speech which the presidency has just made.
On the issue of Jerusalem, as you know, talks are continuing, with some progress, on the problem of how to define the Wailing Wall and the Western Wall. There has still been no precise decision on this. However, there is still a desire to make progress and to reach a definitive solution on Jerusalem.
At the Taba meetings, progress has also been made on the issue of the refugees, and progress has been made on specific and practical issues. The sub-committee set up for this purpose has made considerable progress on all issues relating to the refugees, although it has had to postpone, for the time being, the crucial aspect of the right to return. They have postponed that issue in order to find specific and practical solutions to specific and practical problems, such as international committees, how to find resources in the different countries to help in that direction, etc.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, there is still reason to be hopeful that we may either reach a definitive agreement – a faint hope, to be honest, since there is little chance of reaching a definitive agreement by Sunday – or that we may gain an explicit commitment from both sides on a range of parameters so that, whatever the situation in Israel and the territories after 6 February, there will always be a range of commitments that have been agreed on, accepted by both sides, which means that we will not have to start the next negotiations practically from scratch.
I can tell you that, on the part of the European Union, all the successive Presidencies, with no doubt whatsoever, are going to maintain a commitment which is not only political but also personal. Prime Minister Göran Persson is personally completely committed – and I have witnessed this during the hours we have spent together on the telephone holding the negotiations necessary to reach a solution – and, on our part, please do not have the slightest doubt that we will remain physically, psychologically and politically involved in it, because, as you know, a resolution to this conflict in the Middle East is in our interests, very much in our interests.
It is also important to highlight the constructive behaviour of the countries in the region. Both Jordan and Egypt continue to maintain a firm and determined commitment to trying to find a negotiated and definitive solution. There are going to be difficult moments, without doubt, after the elections; there will be uncertainties and we will need to continue to have – as we Europeans have always had – the determination to continue supporting this peace process.
From other points of view – from the economic point of view – the presidency has already explained what we are doing. I am sure the Commission will also do so. We will continue the generosity that the European Union has always shown.
I would like to say a few words also about the committee of enquiry, the committee which arose from the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting. The committee has worked well for some time but, as of a week ago, the Israeli Government decided to break contact with it until after the elections. Therefore, although there is still a team from the committee still deployed on the ground, we members of the committee as such will not go to the territories until 16 February. That is what I can tell you at the moment.
Finally, I would like to repeat that we will continue to work over the remaining days with energy and determination and, if eventually a summit is held, the European representation will attend it and will do everything possible to push this process in the right direction.
I believe that today’s debate is crucial given the time at which it is taking place. I believe that we should focus the debate on at least three questions. The first is what will the political scene in Israel be like after the elections on 6 February? The second, which the presidency also mentioned, is how can this cycle of violence that we have witnessed over recent months be brought to an end? And the third, and perhaps most important, is what direction must we give to the peace process in 2001?
The year 2000 was a year of hope. It began with the idea that a definitive solution could perhaps be reached. Certain significant measures were adopted in relation to Syria. Unfortunately, however, 2000 ended without us being able to achieve peace. Let us do everything possible so that 2001 might truly be the year in which we do achieve it.
The current situation is, of course, still very fluid. I must tell you that I spent this very morning in Stockholm holding a meeting with the Swedish prime minister and President-in-Office of the Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. We were talking practically until lunchtime when I took the plane to come here and be with you this afternoon.
Many initiatives are taking place at the moment; initiatives which we hope will bring success, with the possibility of a final and definitive summit before the elections of 6 February. I believe that there is still the possibility that this summit will take place, and also the possibility that it may take place in Europe.
As the presidency has clearly pointed out, we have seen some truly significant activity since 23 December of last year, and we have all been involved in an enormously active sense. So much so that, if you will allow me, Madam President, I will tell you that I spent the first day of the year in Israel, together with Mr Barak and Mr Arafat, and we made significant progress.
I believe that the meetings which took place in Taba, as the presidency has said, have been without doubt – according to all the participants – the most substantial negotiations we have ever had. Progress has been made in all areas.
On the issue of land, we are very close to potentially reaching an agreement – if there is actual time to conclude it – on very nearly a hundred per cent of the land, involving some land exchanges.
From the security point of view, I believe that a good agreement can be reached, accepting that there can be three early warning stations and that, along the Jordan Valley, international forces can be deployed to guarantee stability."@en1
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