Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-24-Speech-3-011"
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".
Thank you very much, Mr President. It is a great pleasure for me to appear in this House to inform you of two issues which are related for obvious reasons.
In any event, in the international situation resulting from 11 September and for a European Union on the point of the greatest enlargement in its history, which will practically double its current number of Members, I believe there is no doubt that the Mediterranean is becoming our strategic border, a region where we have to build an area of shared peace, stability, development and prosperity, an area in which the dialogue and cooperation between cultures and civilisations which the Barcelona Declaration calls for is possible.
Like all processes, the Barcelona Process is being built step by step. If we look back, we have travelled a long way since Barcelona, and proof of this lies in the fact that we have signed eleven of the twelve association agreements we intended to reach with the countries of the South. In Valencia we signed the agreement with Algeria. The agreement with Lebanon has been reached and it only remains for it to be signed. All the rest have been signed and many are in force.
Despite all of this, however, this progress, though important, is not sufficient. The Barcelona Process, the very approach and existence of which is of irreplaceable value, requires new political impetus, a kind of navigation chart which is able to take the Barcelona objectives from paper to reality. The Valencia action plan, the joint justice and internal affairs programme and the programme on dialogue between cultures and civilisations respond to this challenge, to this ambition to give the Barcelona Process new political impetus, which we all thought was languishing. I must insist that we have approved all of this by consensus at the Fifth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference.
This means not only maintaining the process’s potential for transformation, but also providing innovations both in terms of form and basis. I have already spoken of the form: it is the first political document adopted jointly by the partners in the process at a ministerial conference. This endows the action plan and the other documents I have mentioned with the status of Euro-Mediterranean contracts, of shared projects and commitments. I would like to reiterate this message: the Barcelona Process, the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue is not something that is addressed by the Fifteen to the Twelve, but rather it belongs to the Twenty-seven, and we want it to increasingly become something experienced and accepted by the Twenty-seven. The basis of the documents has also had the potential for transformation, because they conform to a series of principles which we believe must inspire the transformation of the process and propose a series of important initiatives which, as a whole, have the potential to produce a qualitative improvement in the construction of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
What are these principles? I just referred to one of them: the principle of co-ownership. Also the principle of visibility: that the process is perceived as such by the governments but also by the respective civil societies. The principle of capillarity: that it be communicated to all the players present. And also other principles, such as that of structuring, that of credibility, that of efficiency or that of the realisation of the process. The realisation of the process requires initiatives. Obviously, to explain it completely would require a reading of the action plan, which is very exhaustive, but, while each and every one of these initiatives is very important, I would like to summarise by highlighting those which seem to me at the moment to be of the greatest political significance in the three chapters of the process: in the political and institutional chapter, in the economic and financial chapter and in the social, cultural and human chapter.
In the political and institutional chapter, I would like to highlight the greater democratisation of the process, by means of the proposal to create a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, which we must try to implement as soon as possible. Also by means of the implementation of new mechanisms for political dialogue and cooperation between the Twenty-seven, including issues such as security and defence policy, which I believe is very important, or terrorism – which I will refer to in a moment – or the promotion of human rights. Measures are also adopted for the creation of trust and partnership.
As I have said, terrorism is included for the first time on the Barcelona agenda, which I feel is absolutely essential at the moment for obvious reasons. And it is also envisaged that the plan will for the first time be subject – being a specific action plan approved by everybody – to monitoring and an assessment of compliance at the next Sixth Ministerial Conference in Barcelona, which I believe will make it more credible.
Turning to the economic and financial chapter, the Valencia action plan confirms the objective of creating a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010. To this end, we must conclude every one of the association agreements that I have already mentioned and also complete the South-South integration. It is extremely important that progress be made towards free trade areas in the South and we have therefore welcomed and given all our support – not only political but also technical, thanks to the Commission – to the Agadir Process initiated by Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan. We all know that, in order for the Euro-Mediterranean process to be a success, it is necessary to guarantee the economic and, therefore, social and political development of the countries of the South. This requires, amongst other things, but very importantly all the same, the appropriate channelling of investment flows, and therefore the plan takes up one of the main priorities of the Presidency, that is, to promote the creation of a new financial instrument, which begins to function as a strengthened facility within the European Investment Bank, in order to support infrastructure works and in order to fundamentally support the private sector. Then we have laid down that, within one year, if possible, the decision will be taken to convert this improved facility into a Bank, a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank, with capital potentially open to other countries or even institutions and which, in any event, will allow greater financial resources to be directed towards the region.
The plan also takes up the conclusions and decisions adopted at the Euro-Mediterranean trade and industry ministerial meetings in Toledo and Malaga respectively. In the commercial field it includes a series of measures to facilitate investments and implement the liberalisation of services. In the industrial field it includes provisions to promote legislative harmonisation in order to facilitate the integration of our partners, promote innovation and access to new technologies and increase the role of the private sector in the construction of the Euro-Mediterranean association.
I would also like to make a particular reference in this chapter to the measures intended to stimulate investment in infrastructures and the interconnection of the transport, telecommunications and energy networks of our Mediterranean partners with the trans-European networks, and, in this regard, I would like to thank the Commission once again for the enormous and very positive work it has done. In this field I would also like to stress the European Union’s will to facilitate the incorporation of the Mediterranean partners into the Galileo satellite navigation network.
On the one hand, the Fifth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference which took place in Valencia yesterday and the day before yesterday, and on the other, the current situation in the Middle East, the latest events and the efforts being made to put the peace process back on track.
Finally, with regard to the social, cultural and human chapter, the Presidency has tried to respond to the challenges posed by such important issues as immigration, dialogue between cultures and civilisations or the participation by the different players from civil society in Euro-Mediterranean construction, incorporating a series of measures into the action plan of which I would like to highlight the following: firstly, the adoption of a framework document, which I mentioned earlier, on justice and internal affairs, which deals, for example, with such important issues as the fight against drugs, the fight against organised crime, the fight against terrorism, treatment of migratory flows and the movement of persons, etc. This has also led us to adopt the decision in Valencia to convene a Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on migration.
The decision has also been taken to create a foundation for dialogue between cultures and civilisations and to promote cultural, intellectual and social exchanges. It is a project shared by everybody and it must therefore be a response to the challenges in this field, a concrete response, also the adoption of an action plan, which can be channelled by means of the foundation or by some other method, so that the dialogue between cultures and civilisations focuses on three areas which we believe to be fundamental: youth, education and the media.
We have also decided to extend the Tempus programme to the Mediterranean partners, which would allow for the development of cooperation between universities on the two sides of the Mediterranean and, very importantly, the incorporation into the university world of the two sides of the Mediterranean as players in the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. There is also a call to develop decentralised cooperation between Mediterranean cities and regions and the adoption of conclusions which stem from those of the civil forum which took place in Valencia prior to the Ministerial Summit.
In summary, we are facing a new stage; if you like, a new phase in the Barcelona Process. We are facing a relaunch of the Barcelona Process despite the difficulties resulting from the Middle East conflict, which I believe demonstrates something essential: the Barcelona Process’s enormous capacity for resistance. The Barcelona Process has demonstrated that it is able to resist the Middle East conflict, and this brings me to a new conclusion: Barcelona was a wonderful idea in 1995, the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue was and still is a wonderful idea and, if we had not adopted it at that time, we would have had to adopt it now.
Naturally, Mr President, over these two days, with the presence of Arab countries, amongst them all those directly involved in the Middle East conflict, and Israel and the European Union, it was absolutely essential that we dedicated a good proportion of the sittings to the debate on the situation in the Middle East. Valencia has helped us to evaluate and debate this situation, and it has taken place – despite the enormous current tensions and emotions – within the framework of a debate which at times was genuinely constructive, which has demonstrated the parties’ desire for peace and I believe it can be of use to the whole process.
We are all aware of the situation on the ground. We are witnessing an unprecedented level of violence, with a horrendous number of victims. Despite the calm of recent hours and days, the events of recent weeks have been truly horrific. There have been terrible terrorist attacks, which we would like to condemn once again, without reservation or hesitation. There has been – and there still is – the Israeli occupation of cities controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and in this regard I would like to repeat our demand for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. We all know that there can be no military solution to the conflict and that the only route is negotiation within the framework of a political perspective and that therefore a ceasefire is also urgently required.
Given the events of recent days, I believe that we are all very aware that there is a serious risk of the destruction and dismantling of the Palestinian National Authority, of its short- and medium-term capacity to be the seed for a future Palestinian State, and I would therefore call once again for an immediate end to the confinement of President Arafat. I would also like to say on behalf of the international community that we welcome the condemnation by the Palestinian leadership and by President Arafat himself of the terrorist acts. I would also like to express my serious concern about the humanitarian crisis. It is absolutely essential that medical and assistance organisations can carry out their tasks. A very important meeting is taking place today in Oslo which must specify what we must do to deal with the most urgent and immediate needs from a humanitarian point of view, and also what we can do for the reconstruction – not just physical, but also institutional – of the territories and of the Palestinian Authority.
Over the coming days, when it appears that the withdrawal has begun – with all the issues this involves – we will clearly see the consequences of the military attacks. Jenin is undoubtedly a dramatic example. It is essential to know what has happened and its true extent, that the United Nations has the necessary support – of course I believe they can count on the full support of the European Union – to carry out an impartial international investigation.
I would also like to mention that, given the events, there is a very serious risk of regional destabilisation. There is serious concern about the violence on the southern border of Lebanon. We have made direct representations – the Presidency-in-Office of the Council, the troika
to the Lebanese authorities and the other countries so that they may make every possible effort to prevent attacks on Israel from their territory. I must point out that they share that concern and I am aware that they are taking measures.
I would also like to mention another very important point: it is very regrettable that the consular representations of our countries cannot carry out their duties owing to the constant obstacles presented by the Israeli army in the occupied territories. Certain new possibilities are beginning to emerge, certain controls are being relaxed, but the situation is still unsustainable and completely unacceptable. Our consular representatives must have complete freedom to access the territories, to attend to their respective nationals and to observe the humanitarian situation in those territories.
If you will allow me, I will begin by describing the contribution I believe this ministerial meeting has made and then end with some comments on the situation in the Middle East.
We have made representations both in Tel Aviv, as the troika
and, as Presidency, to the Israeli Ambassador in Spain. Furthermore, the consuls in Jerusalem have held many contacts with the Israeli army authorities and, for the moment, some progress is being made, although I believe that it is clearly insufficient. We must send a very strong and clear message in this regard.
I would now like to refer very briefly to the efforts we have made over recent weeks. The European Union is always firmly committed to helping to resolve the problem in the region. At the Barcelona European Council we insisted on dealing with both the security and the political and economic aspects, as inseparable and interdependent elements of the same process. We cannot attach more importance to some than to others. They must run in parallel. And the foundations for a solution to the conflict were repeated in Barcelona: the resolutions of the Security Council, essentially Resolutions Nos 242, 338 and 1397; the principles of the Madrid Conference, and in particular the principle of land for peace; the principles of the Oslo Agreements and all subsequent agreements, which would allow the two States, Israel and Palestine, to live in peace and security.
We have therefore firmly supported the peace initiatives such as the Saudi plan, which was supported by the Summit of the Arab League in Beirut and which presented the possibility of normalising relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a fair solution to the problem of refugees on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions. I believe that that support was demonstrated by the presence of the Spanish Prime Minister, in his capacity as President-in-Office of the Council, and the High Representative at the inauguration of the Beirut Summit.
We also held an extraordinary General Affairs Council as a result of the seriousness of the crisis. We wanted to send a clear message of concern, but also of involvement by the European Union given the events. We decided to send the Presidency and the High Representative to the region to talk to the parties at the highest level in order to demand an immediate ceasefire, the application of United Nations Resolutions Nos 1397 and 1402 and a return to negotiations on a political agreement. I believe that we had to do so and we did, highlighting through action the essential need for an involvement on the ground by the international community. As is well known, that mission met with many difficulties, and it was impossible for us to visit President Arafat given the opposition of the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Sharon. I must say that that attitude has changed. At this moment – and this is why Mr Solana is not here today – both Mr Solana and Mr Moratinos are visiting the region – and I did not go precisely so that I could be here – and they intend to visit President Arafat and if possible the other leaders in the region.
With regard to this will on the part of the international community to be involved, I would like to mention another event to which I attach great importance: the meeting in Madrid of the so-called Quartet, that is, the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Nations and the European Union at the highest diplomatic level: Secretary of State Powell, the Foreign Minister, Mr Ivanov, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Annan, and Mr Solana and myself, on behalf of the European Union. I believe this reflects something that we in the European Union have always advocated: the international community’s involvement must be based on the greatest possible degree of unity in its actions and positions, because we are all aware that there can be no solution without the United States, but that neither can there be a solution with the United States alone. And to maintain the unity of the whole international community on the basis of common positions seems to me extremely important. As you know, we issued a public declaration establishing a common position on the conflict and supporting Secretary of State Powell’s mission to the region. It also stated the desire for the Quartet to continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East by means of regular consultations at the highest level and for the special envoys to continue with their efforts on the ground. They are doing so and they are doing it very well. In this regard I would like to mention the representative of the Russian Federation, Mr Vdovin, the representative of the European Union, Mr Moratinos, the current representative of the United States, Mr Zinni, and – I would like to say this very clearly here today – the special representative of the United Nations, Mr Larsen, who are doing fantastic work. With regard to the continuation of meetings of the Quartet at the highest level, I believe we will be able to convene one in the coming days to review the situation once again and to continue with the progress on political initiatives.
In that Madrid Declaration we expressly asked for immediate compliance with Resolution No 1402, as demanded by Resolution 1403, and therefore an immediate ceasefire, an immediate withdrawal from Palestinian cities, including Bethlehem and Ramallah and in particular the general headquarters of President Arafat. In this Declaration, Israel was urged to cease the military operations, to comply with international humanitarian principles, to allow full and unhindered access for humanitarian organisations and services, to refrain from the excessive use of force and to make every possible effort to guarantee the protection of civilians.
This declaration also urges President Arafat, however, as the recognised and elected leader of the Palestinians, to immediately make the greatest possible effort to stop the terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis, to use all the weight of his political authority to convince the Palestinian people that attacks against Israelis must end completely and immediately, to authorise his representatives to renew, immediately, the security coordination with Israel and he is also urged to act decisively and to take every measure he can to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, including its funding, and to stop the incitement to violence or the justification of certain types of attack. This declaration does not say this, but I want to say it: the suicide bombers are terrorists, they are not martyrs, and this must be repeated constantly. Returning to the declaration, terrorism is immoral and illegal, it has seriously damaged the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians and it must be condemned, as Security Council Resolution 1373 clearly states.
Finally, we express our joint will to help the parties to apply their agreements, such as the Tenet Security Plan and the Mitchell recommendations, including the mediation of an impartial mechanism, as agreed by the parties.
Within the Union, various scenarios have been discussed in view of the current situation. We have lent all our political weight to diplomatic efforts, which range from Presidency declarations and contacts with all the parties involved, to supporting General Zinni’s mission a few weeks ago and of course supporting the mission to the region by the American Secretary of State, Mr Powell, and also our visits on the ground, such as the one that is taking place today.
I would firstly like to say that we all had doubts about whether or not this Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting would be able to take place, for obvious reasons: the situation in the Middle East presented enormous uncertainties and serious risks and, at certain moments, many people doubted whether this meeting could even take place. I therefore believe that the fact that we have been able to hold it is a success in itself.
The possibility has also been raised of implementing measures to put pressure on Israel, such as suspending the Association Agreement, and I am perfectly aware of the position expressed by this Parliament. Last week, at the last General Affairs Council, it was considered appropriate to await the results of the mission by Secretary of State Powell, which I will mention in a moment, and at the moment what I can say is that all options remain open.
The tour by Secretary of State Powell has yielded more positive and useful results than would appear at first sight, and I believe this will become evident over the coming days. A new perspective has been opened up by establishing a timetable for withdrawal, but it is clear that there are unacceptable exceptions. One is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and another is the general headquarters of President Arafat. On the first issue, a solution is still being sought. There is close contact between all the parties involved and, in particular, with the Vatican, which I hope will bear fruit. And on the second issue, we are continuing with all our efforts, and the visit by Mr Solana and Mr Moratinos today to a large extent has the objective of finding a solution which will lead to an end to the siege, which would allow for a ceasefire. We are all also awaiting the coming visit of the Director of the CIA, Mr Tenet, accompanied by General Zinni, which may also be extremely useful on the ground.
If we manage to resolve these problems – and we are applying all our efforts to this – and achieve the withdrawal of troops, an effective ceasefire and, therefore, an end to terrorist activities, we can begin to create the conditions for progressing towards a peace conference. A peace conference cannot start from nothing. It must be a closing peace conference which takes account of everything that has been achieved until now, which does not once again reopen everything that was agreed in Madrid or in Oslo or what has been agreed over recent years. It cannot reopen the issue of international legality which is clearly defined by the Security Council Resolutions. It must be something which really leads to a definitive peace and which must therefore be as effective as possible. I believe that this effectiveness is only possible if it has the full support and participation of all the important players in the international community and, without doubt, the European Union.
I hope that a meeting of the Quartet will take place very soon, in which we can analyse all these elements and continue to contribute new ideas and new efforts so that, in the end, Palestinians, Israelis, the Arab world in general, can offer themselves and future generations the prospect of peace, co-existence, stability and prosperity which for very many years has been denied them.
As well as holding the meeting, the fact that we have been able to achieve conclusions which enjoyed the consensus of all the parties present was also a success. You know that the delegations from Syria and Lebanon finally decided not to attend in order not to come into contact with the Israeli delegation, but the other countries of the Mediterranean did attend and the twenty-five of us reached a consensus on approving an action plan, a programme in such sensitive areas as justice and internal affairs as well as a programme to guide dialogue between cultures and civilisations. I believe that this – which has been the subject of much work both prior to and during the conference – is also a notable success in itself.
I would also like to stress that practically all the Member States of the Barcelona Process attended at ministerial level and there was therefore an extremely high level of attendance and decision-making capacity, for which I am grateful to the countries of the South and the East of the Mediterranean as well as all my colleagues in the European Union.
As I have said, there has been solid previous work. If this had not been the case, given the enormous difficulties and tensions in the Middle East, we would not have been able to hold this conference and nor would it have borne fruit. I am referring to documents such as the establishment of priorities by the Presidency, the Commission’s communication, the action lines, the guidelines of the recent General Affairs Council and all the documents and contributions of the countries of the South and the East of the Mediterranean.
I would, however, also like, in particular, to refer to the report by the European Parliament, which furthermore was produced by a Spanish Member, Mr Esteve. It is a wonderful report which I value very highly. We have accepted many of its proposals; we are going to try our best to incorporate more of them, since we believe they are all worthy of consideration. I would therefore like to say that everything we have achieved and approved in Valencia – I insist, by consensus – is not only the result of this desire for agreement, but also of everybody’s contributions. It is the first time – I will talk about this later – that, following the Barcelona Declaration of 1995, documents of this nature have been approved by everybody, and not only as mere Presidency declarations of conclusions following a series of debates.
In this context, I would also like to stress – and I will return to this later – that we have approved the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. I believe that this is a great step forward: it is an idea of the European Parliament which we have accepted and which we believe to be enormously important."@en1
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