Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-184"
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"en.20030115.10.3-184"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to make a number of very brief comments.
First, I should like to thank Commissioner Patten for adding some very detailed and useful comments on aspects of the situation on the ground in Lebanon and the policies of the European Union and the Commission’s efforts in this direction.
My second comment is that Lebanon was hit by tragedy about twenty years ago. Today we have a very different country which is struggling hard to overcome huge structural problems. Lebanon forms part of the whole puzzle of the Middle East and part of European policy on Mediterranean countries. It is on our very doorstep and obviously we have a keen interest. Because of these two aspects, the European Union and the Council are keeping a very close eye on it and supporting its new policies.
I have made careful note of what was said about human rights, and disappearances in particular, and I shall inform the Council accordingly. However, I would point out that we are trying to include neighbouring countries, such as Syria, in efforts on the human rights front, precisely so that we can deal with these issues more efficiently and influence developments in the area.
As far as Hezbollah are concerned, may I say that the Council pays a great deal of attention to terrorist issues at its regular meetings and discussions on the Middle East. As you know, a great many measures and a great many decisions have been taken. The Council weighs all the factors very carefully and I am sure that, as and when it judges that it is expedient and necessary to do so, it will take stronger action. It has already made a number of moves.
I should like to finish by saying that an association agreement is an important tool. It can have a significant impact, but only under certain conditions. These conditions are that there must be a functioning economy, there must be a strong productive sector, there must be employment, there must be confidence and there must be the potential for cooperation. Where there are armed conflicts and insecurity, it obviously will not have the same results. However, what we are trying and aiming to do is precisely to use multiple means of cooperation, of which the association agreement is one, to do our best to support developments in the area, prosperity and better prospects for the area and relations with a country which belongs to the Mediterranean, which belongs to an area on our very doorstep."@en1
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