Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-037"
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"en.20080409.19.3-037"2
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"Mr President, I wish to begin by thanking Parliament for including Lebanon on today’s agenda. Many other developments in the Middle East – especially events in Gaza – have recently occupied our attention. This should, however, not make us forget the strategic importance of Lebanon for the region and as a partner of Europe.
We should also continue efforts to maintain momentum in the Middle East peace process, which has an impact on Lebanon. I remain in close contact with my Quartet partners and am looking forward to the Middle East conference planned by the European Parliament later this year.
The present situation in Lebanon is extremely worrying. The deep political crisis continues: on 24 March, the parliamentary session to elect a President was postponed for the 17th time since November 2007. The Summit of the Arab League in Damascus has not delivered a solution either.
While the security situation has remained relatively calm with no major incidents, public tension and anxiety have increased. Violence could break out at any moment as the political crisis goes on, with unforeseeable consequences for the country and its people.
Indications that Hizbollah has replenished its military capacity since 2006 are worrying, especially in the light of the recent threats against Israel, following the death of Imad Mugniyeh. Moreover, the protracted crisis is having a very negative impact on the socio-economic situation in Lebanon.
As you are aware, Europe is active at many different levels to help Lebanon: we remain the biggest contributor to UNIFIL, and the European Union has also been the most important donor at the Paris III Conference. We have been firmly supporting the Arab League’s Initiative since it was launched in January 2008 and our Community instruments have allowed us to provide a targeted response to some of the major challenges.
The European Neighbourhood Policy has developed into a major instrument to support Lebanon’s reform process and to contribute to economic and social stabilisation, even though reform efforts are severely hampered by the current political stalemate.
What are our priorities for the immediate future? Continued support for the implementation of the Arab League Initiative remains our key priority. Despite all difficulties, this initiative enjoys broad support and it represents for the moment the only option to find a solution. An important date in the process will be 22 April, when the next presidential election session in the Parliament is scheduled.
The idea of a special Lebanon Summit within the Arab League framework has recently been floated. If it materialises, we should see how we can best provide support for this initiative. We should note, however, that it is Syria that currently holds the Presidency of the Arab League.
A clear and continued commitment to the full implementation of the Security Council resolutions relevant to Lebanon also remains essential, indeed crucial. The publication of the next implementation reports on UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 – in May and July 2007 respectively – will therefore be essential milestones."@en1
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