Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-01-Speech-4-119"
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"en.20010201.6.4-119"2
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"I must give the rapporteur my sincere congratulations on the work he has done. His report on the Barcelona Process is extremely comprehensive, so I need do no more than highlight a few points which are of special importance to me.
First of all, let me emphasise that the aim set forth in the Commission communication “Reinvigoration of the Barcelona Process” was twofold: to draw up a balance sheet of the Barcelona Process and to formulate recommendations in preparation for the ministerial conference in Marseilles in November 2000.
To be perfectly honest, the balance sheet is not a healthy one. Of the three components of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership – the political component, the cultural, social and human component and the economic and financial component, only the last-named has been set in motion, and note the way this has been done! In this domain, the imbalance is flagrant. We are asking our partners to open their markets in the sectors where we are most competitive. When it comes to agricultural produce, on the other hand, the European Union is too reluctant to lift the barriers that currently penalise those partner countries. As the rapporteur says, the Union wants a “free-trade area run on Europe’s terms”. The worst feature of this deplorable attitude is its irresponsibility. Let us end the hypocrisy and stop declaring our commitment to creating an area of shared prosperity.
It is time for loud and strong condemnation of the scant importance that Europe, preoccupied as it is with the eastward enlargement process, accords to its Mediterranean Partnership. This is a miscalculation. Europe has everything to gain from the sustained economic and social development of the region on the opposite shore of the Mediterranean, Europe’s inland sea.
Breathing fresh life into this Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is becoming a matter of urgency. The rapporteur proposes several avenues for us to explore. For my part, I suggest that we start by intervening in a more proactive manner in the political arena. The new international situation undoubtedly presents an opportunity that we must grasp. The European Union has a role to play in the Middle East peace process. The settlement of the Middle East conflict is the key to establishing peace and stability in the region. This means recognising that Israel and all the other States in the region have a right to security and that the Palestinian people have a legitimate right to live in a viable and internationally recognised State of their own. by the same token, the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Peace and Stability should be adopted as soon as possible. The European Union must also invest more financial and human resources and promote interregional cooperation and the involvement of civil society.
I shall close on an optimistic note by expressing my satisfaction at the desire of Swedish Presidency to initiate serious examination of the Barcelona Process, following on directly from the initial steps that were taken by the French Presidency. We can only hope that this intention will be quickly translated into action. That is why I voted for Sami Naïr’s report."@en1
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