Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-20-Speech-3-208"
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"en.20070620.22.3-208"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Gloser, Commissioner, let me begin by warmly thanking the rapporteur, Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, for her report. The section on MEDA in particular has been very well formulated and highlights all the steps that will have to be taken. Congratulations on a truly solid piece of work!
In the light of events and since time is short, I intend to confine myself to TIM, the aid fund for the Palestinians. The draft report shows clearly that the Commissioner has pulled off a real master stroke here. I congratulate you on that, Commissioner, because the EU had been compelled to call a complete halt to its aid payments to the Palestinian Authority. We had no option. We cannot assist terrorists. We never have done in the past, and we never should. There is always a duty to act, however, when individual suffering occurs. With TIM the European Union has found a solution that meets the high moral standards applied by Europeans to the payment of aid.
In these circumstances, I believe that, while criticism of minor accounting errors and inaccuracies should be noted, it certainly must not be made the focus of this debate. After all, we are dealing here with a project that was put together somewhat hastily. We all know that we were subject to certain constraints. I do not agree with the critical undertone regarding the Israeli strategy of suspending the release of tax revenue. We cannot blame the Israelis for not having run after the terrorists with the money, and for that reason we should let the matter rest. Besides, subsequent events have shown that it was right to keep back the money as security, since it can now doubly benefit President Abbas and the forces of moderation. In this context I must also commend Israel’s decision to open the Erez border crossing on humanitarian grounds, thereby directly helping the Palestinians who were fleeing from Hamas.
In conclusion, let me express my gratitude to the aid workers on the ground, for aid has to be delivered to the local people. The European Parliament is grateful for the humanitarian mission they are accomplishing. Theirs is no easy task. Our sincere thanks go to them."@en1
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