Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-18-Speech-3-043"
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"en.20030618.6.3-043"2
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"Mr President, it is a great pleasure once again to be able to participate in this plenary session of the European Parliament to discuss issues which are essential to the European Union and to the World in general.
At the moment, as you know, two types of negotiation are underway, a negotiation which we could call ‘intra-Palestinian’ and another between Palestine and Israel. At the moment, it may be that we are once again seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
You are well aware of the intra-Palestinian negotiation. It is taking place between Prime Minister Abu Mazen and the factions which have rejected the Roadmap and which have not supported the statements made in Aqaba. There is a negotiation with the political leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the hope of reaching a ceasefire agreement soon, not a short ceasefire but rather one which really allows the more political aspects of the Roadmap to be implemented.
Secondly, there is a negotiation between the Palestinian Authorities at the moment, headed by the Interior Minister, Mohamed Dahlan, and the Israeli authorities, with a view to achieving an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, or at least from part of it, and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority fully taking up their security responsibilities. If this were to be agreed, it would have consequences for all of us; we would also have to make an effort to help the Palestinian Authority, from an economic point of view, so that it could rapidly restore and construct at least a part of its security infrastructure.
Finally, Mr President, I believe that the control of this process is absolutely fundamental to the application of the Roadmap. If there is nobody on the ground able to give their opinion, to analyse and to observe how this process is developing, I believe it will be very difficult to move forward and to achieve a good result. We are being offered an opportunity to bring this process to a successful conclusion, and you know that the objective would be defined by the existence of two states, two states which could live together in peace, and within a regional context, with which all the other countries of the region could establish diplomatic and other types of relationship.
On Monday, in Luxembourg, the General Affairs Council met in the morning with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian Authority, a friend of many of us, Nabil Shaat, and in the evening we received the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister. As the honourable Members will imagine, we are working in close cooperation with all the countries of the region in order to try to ensure that the opportunity offered by the Roadmap leads to a good result.
A few days ago I had the opportunity to travel to all the countries of the region for the preparation of the Luxembourg Council, and I can tell you that there is a great desire for the application of the Roadmap to begin; and at the same time there is a great fear that, if this opportunity is missed, we may have missed the final opportunity to find a peaceful and lasting solution which puts an end to the frustration and suffering of so many people over so long. Therefore, to stop the violence, to stop the selective assassinations, are things which we must achieve amongst all of us so that we can implement the Roadmap.
Please allow me to make a couple of comments while the President of the Iranian Foreign Affairs Committee is present. As I said, yesterday I was able to hold a good conversation with him, but I would also like to say that on Monday a statement was made in the External Relations Council, of which I hope all the honourable Members are aware, on relations between Iran and the European Union.
I would like to say to our Iranian friends, who are here with us this afternoon, that the European Union sees Iran as a great country. It is a great country with which we want to have solid relations, with which we are involved in serious negotiations with two approaches, one of an economic nature and one of a political nature.
It is the political aspect which affects me most directly. It has to do with human rights, with the renunciation of support for any form of terrorism and with the nuclearisation of the Republic of Iran. The honourable Members will be aware that the International Atomic Energy Agency, through its Director-General, Mr ElBaradei, whom many of us know, has been making certain clear statements on the behaviour of Iran and how it should behave in order to comply with the appeals and suggestions of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As I said yesterday with all respect and affection to the President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the European Union believes it is absolutely essential that our Iranian friends sign the additional protocol. There is absolutely no reason for them not to do so. Furthermore, our Iranian friends should not ask for anything in exchange, to sign the additional protocol is something which is in line with what countries such as Iran and the countries making up the European Union want: a world in which there is no proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and a world in which energy is used for peaceful purposes in a manner which is controlled by the organs of the United Nations, and therefore, to sign, to comply with all the requirements of United Nations, seems to us to be absolutely fundamental.
I would like to join the President in warmly welcoming the representatives of the Iranian Parliament, headed by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Mirdamadi, with whom I had the opportunity to meet yesterday and have a wonderful conversation on topical issues, issues which we will have the opportunity to discuss this afternoon.
Our hope and desire is that the good sense of the Iranian authorities and people will mean that this demand, which we Europeans are making in good faith, becomes a reality as soon as possible. They must sign the additional protocol and they should do so without expecting anything in exchange other than to continue constructive and positive relations with their friends in the European Union.
In this first speech I have been asked to give you some brief information about Operation Artemis, the operation currently being carried out by the European Union in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the region of Ituri and more specifically in the city of Bunia.
I would like to say that this is the first military operation the European Union has carried out without the assistance of any other organisation. It is the exclusive responsibility of the European Union. It is an autonomous operation requested by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, who contacted me a few days ago to find out whether the European Union would be prepared to commit itself to an operation of this nature.
The operation is not easy. It is complex, and therefore everything possible has been done so that it may fulfil its objective and so that the European Union may complete this commitment with its head held high and having implemented a resolution of the United Nations Security Council.
I would like to point out that, immediately after responding to the Secretary-General that the European Union was prepared to carry out this task, the Security Council approved Resolution 1484 which defines the limits of this mission both in terms of space and in terms of time. But I would like to insist that in a genuinely record time, in less than two weeks from the first contact with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the European Union has been able to implement a whole complex operational set-up for the first military peace-keeping operation carried out by the European Union autonomously in Africa.
I am glad to be able to say this, because many people in the Council, the Commission and the General Staff of the European Union have worked day and night producing high-quality documents which have allowed forces to be deployed in absolutely record time. And in relation to this thought, I would like to point out that we are midway through 2003. At the beginning of 2000, following the meeting of the European Council in Helsinki, we were asked to put ourselves in a position in 2003 or at the end of 2003 to be able to carry out peace-keeping operations of a military or civilian nature.
I believe we can all be proud, Parliament, the Council, the Commission, all the citizens of Europe, of the fact that halfway through 2003, the European Union is currently committed to three peace-keeping operations: one in Bosnia, as you know, continuing operations begun by the United Nations, another in Skopje taking over an operation begun by the Atlantic Alliance and one currently in Ituri, an operation begun by the European Union which I hope can be completed by the European Union.
All of us who have participated, therefore, can feel somewhat satisfied and proud: Parliament, the Commission, the Council, our colleagues in the General Staff, of having managed in such a short space of time to implement three operations which we must feel proud of, and I believe that Parliament must feel this and that we must also communicate it to the European citizens: the European Union is still working ceaselessly, with all the resources and capacities at its disposal, to try to make the world we are living in fairer and better and to ensure that the European Union plays a significant role in it.
I would insist that Operation Artemis is going to be a difficult one. The honourable Members are aware that a few days ago we began to deploy the force. There are now 400 soldiers in the region. The operation is being led by a French commander, and France will act as the framework-nation for the operation. There are forces from many countries of the European Union, a significant proportion, but also from third countries, from Africa and from other areas of the world, such as Latin America, deployed as part of this operation led by the European Union.
In accordance with the mandates issued to us by the Secretary-General of United Nations, we hope that this transition can be made when this force leaves the region of Ituri; a smooth transition to a fundamentally African administration and to this end we are in contact with the leaders of southern Africa.
I would like to begin with a few brief words on the situation in the Middle East, Mr President, which, despite the rays of hope we have seen over recent days, is still extremely difficult. We must be aware that every possible effort should be directed towards initiating the peace process, which is unfortunately not being implemented, although there have been moments of hope in recent hours and recent days.
This operation in the Congo is not just a peace-keeping operation. We want to help to keep the peace so that we can accompany the operation with intensive diplomatic action. Since before the operation began and every day since it began on the 12th, I have maintained contact with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the Presidents of the neighbouring republics, in particular Rwanda and Uganda, the countries which have been most closely involved with the region of Ituri in the north of the Congo. In a few days time I will travel to the region to try to give diplomatic impetus to the situation which has now been going on for a long time. As a result of this European Union cooperation we will perhaps be able to see the establishment of a provisional government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and we may glimpse signs of peace in these regions where, while there is unfortunately so much poverty, suffering and misery, there is also so much wealth underground.
I would therefore like to thank, on behalf of all of us, the country which is heading this operation, France, and all the members participating in it including – as I have said – countries from outside the continent, and I would like to address very directly our friends in Canada, which has not had the least hesitation in involving its forces in an operation led by the Europeans. Canada has demonstrated once again its affection and respect for the European Union and, more importantly, the fact that it has such a similar view of the world's problems as the European Union.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I will end this first speech here. I believe I have left nothing out, but if I have, I am sure that everything will become clear when I reply to your questions.
The Roadmap, which was produced by the Quartet, has finally been accepted by both sides, by Palestinians and by the Israeli Government. As you know, in recent days there have been certain very important meetings, one in Sharm El Sheik, in Egypt, and another important one in Aqaba, where three speeches, the speech by the President of the United States, the speech by Prime Minister Sharon and the speech by Prime Minister Abu Mazen, had the air of very important declarations.
Unfortunately, that moment, which seemed as if it would lead to certain positive results, we have seen, if not die away, at least pass through a difficult phase as a result of the resurgence of violence in the occupied territories and in Palestine.
As you know, immediately after the meeting in Aqaba, acts of violence took place, terrorist actions and responses to them, creating the unstoppable spiral which we have unfortunately been witnessing for so long.
On the positive side, I would highlight the Quartet meeting on Friday of the envoys to the region, headed by Mr Moratinos representing the European Union, which has been positive and which will allow us to hold a new meeting on Sunday of the Quartet in Amman, which will be attended by its principal leaders.
The aim of this meeting will be to consider how we can continue to promote the process which was opened up following the meetings in Sharm El Sheik and Aqaba, which led to the approval of the Roadmap by both sides.
The Roadmap must be applied. If the international community is not able to do everything possible to see that the Roadmap is applied, we will be faced with the same failure that we faced when the Mitchell Plan was presented, or when the Tenet Plan was presented. Till now we have been able to produce sensible documents, documents which were full of hope, but which, unfortunately, the parties have not been able, with the help of the international community, to implement. The fulfilment of the Roadmap must be our objective and the international community must make every possible effort to achieve that."@en1
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