Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-07-Speech-3-143"
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"en.20050907.18.3-143"2
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".
Mr President, honourable Members, it is my pleasure to be able to address you today on the Middle East peace process at a time when there is a renewed feeling of momentum and hope. After five years of the second Intifada, the past six months of calm have witnessed a downturn in violence and terrorist acts and the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and removal of settlers from certain parts of the northern West bank has passed off smoothly. The professionalism of both sides is to be commended.
The third challenge is how to promote the creation of a viable Palestinian State, for which the implementation of the roadmap is a necessary condition. There is already renewed impetus for Palestinian reform, institution- building, stemming from the intention of the Palestinian Authority to establish a medium-term plan for economic development and from the G8 political commitment to raise up to EUR 3 billion each year for the next three years in order to fund this plan.
In the coming weeks, the Commission will be putting forward proposals for a comprehensive and coherent medium-term strategy for the European Union's relations with a future Palestinian State, including better coordination of EU positions and financial assistance. We need to see how best we can promote the political and economic viability of a future Palestinian State through targeted assistance in support of reform and institution-building. It is clear that efforts must be geared towards the promotion of human rights and democratic principles, the rule of law, improved security and increased effectiveness of public administration.
But real challenges lie ahead. By this I mean firstly putting in place the conditions necessary so that the Israeli withdrawal creates an opportunity for ordinary Palestinians to improve their daily lives. Secondly, the implementation of the roadmap in full, and thirdly, the creation of a viable Palestinian state at peace with its neighbour, Israel.
The Commission recognises that for the recent disengagement to be considered a success it must bring tangible and immediate improvement to the lives of ordinary Palestinians. The Commission has therefore launched a EUR 60 million package as an immediate response to the withdrawal. This consists of a EUR 40 million infrastructure facility geared to labour-intensive, fast-disbursing projects to restore essential services in the West Bank and Gaza; EUR 12 million assistance to institution-building to help the Palestinians assume governance responsibilities following disengagement, and a package of EUR 8 million focusing on social services, as well as East Jerusalem.
The Commission is also working closely with the European Investment Bank to identify common projects in the infrastructure sector. I would like to mention here the fact that we have already in place the European neighbourhood policy and that we have already agreed common action plans with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan and that the Commission is absolutely convinced that in the context of the European neighbourhood policy Europe can play an important and helpful role in overcoming the problems of the region.
This assistance will not, however, achieve its desired results unless Israel and the Palestinian Authority tackle such important issues as movement of people and goods between Gaza and the West Bank and the outside world, the greenhouses, operation of the border terminals, the dismantling and removal of settlers' homes and movement of people within the West Bank.
It is for this reason that the Commission is providing financial, political and human resources support to the Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn, whose contribution to the disengagement has been remarkable. The Special Envoy has succeeded in fostering dialogue with the Palestinian Authority and Israel on each of these issues. However, only one – the greenhouses – has been settled in full.
The Commission is helping in this. We are, for example, ready to fund a new presence at border crossings as a confidence-building measure, if the parties so request. The Commission is also keenly aware of the need to maintain the Israel-Palestinian Authority customs union so as to avoid possible trade disruption and to do what it can to promote interregional trade and investment.
The second challenge for the peace process is implementation of the roadmap. The disengagement has clearly been traumatic for Israel, but it has not caused the much-feared rift in Israeli society. On the Palestinian side, President Abbas was able to keep the Palestinian factions in check.
It is now for the international community to help move both sides forward in parallel, helping the Palestinian Authority to make progress on tackling incitement and the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and pressing Israel to bring to a halt the creation of new 'facts on the ground', which threaten to undermine future final status negotiations. Settlement activity in and around Jerusalem and the route of the separation barrier are the two most pressing issues."@en1
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