Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-054"
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"en.20080409.19.3-054"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the Members for a very important and responsible debate. I shall report its contents to my colleague, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
It seems to me that we – that is, Parliament, Council and Commission – share the basic view that we will certainly continue to support our long-standing partner, Lebanon, in this very critical phase. Given the complexity of the challenges Lebanon currently faces, it is indeed essential that, as European institutions, we coordinate our efforts as much as possible and take full advantage of our capabilities. The European Parliament has already made valuable contributions to our cooperation with Lebanon in the past. A good example is the European election observation mission at the 2005 parliamentary elections.
Indeed one of the key tasks ahead is to help Lebanese democracy to become more robust to face challenges like the present crisis. Electoral reform is a crucial element in every initiative that is expected to make a lasting impact on Lebanon’s political system. In this context, the European Parliament, with its particular expertise and know-how, can – and, I trust, will – play a key role.
It is also true that the conflicts in the region are interlinked, as was underlined by several speakers. As you know, Lebanon and Israel have never reached a peace agreement. Lebanon hosts 400 000 Palestinian refugees partly because Israel and the Palestinians have not yet reached a peace deal. Part of the Hizbollah’s
is the ongoing occupation by Israel of the Shebaa farms. Therefore, from the point of view of the European Union, a sustained and lasting solution can only be achieved through a comprehensive approach to the peace process. Solving one track of the peace process will help in other areas, but no one track can be secure without progress on others. Certainly, reaching an agreement between Israel and Syria could help to diffuse tensions in Lebanon, and therefore we have thrown our full support behind the current political process. We are hopeful that progress can be extended to other tracks in due course."@en1
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