Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-09-Speech-3-098"
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"en.20070509.13.3-098"2
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"Mr President, it is not an easy task to produce a report on reforms in the Arab world, since that covers a fairly heterogeneous group of countries.
There is, however, agreement on the need for reforms in the Arab countries, a notion that is taken up in the very title of the report. The Arab leaders also acknowledged this at the Tunis Summit in 2004. Furthermore, the recent Riyadh Summit insisted on modernisation too, though I notice that its text places less emphasis on the idea of reforms.
The Arab countries are facing a series of challenges which they need to tackle by means of substantial improvements in the political, economic and social fields. That means reforms leading to democratisation and greater respect for human rights, which are not the exclusive property of the West, but are universal.
In many cases, democratisation will involve the challenge of incorporating moderate Islamic options into political life, options that are opposed to the use of violence.
Economic and social reforms are also needed. From an economic point of view, there is excessive State presence, scant participation in international trade and little diversification of economies. Generally speaking, in the majority of these countries there is a low level of economic development and low rates of growth, which are incapable of generating employment for a rapidly growing population. High unemployment and lack of prospects cause social discontent, which feeds radical political forces.
The stability and prosperity of the Arab countries is very important for the European Union. We need to have good relations with them that benefit us mutually; we must consider the importance of their oil and gas to the European Union, which imports much of its energy resources from outside. Furthermore, several Member States have Arab countries as neighbours, and many Arab citizens live in our cities.
In addition, over recent years, an extremely serious Jihadist threat has emerged, which is attacking our countries and also the Muslim States themselves.
In short, there are many fields in which we must cooperate. We must also encourage them and help them to implement political, economic and social reforms. Maintaining the status quo – as the report itself points out – is not a guarantee of stability in the long run, quite the opposite."@en1
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