Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-16-Speech-3-465-000"
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"en.20110216.16.3-465-000"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, I believe that we are, indeed, faced with several issues. The first issue, which will not be resolved in two weeks, is that the Commission is wondering what a realpolitik means in a climate that has existed for years in the Mediterranean region and perhaps elsewhere. In other words, what kind of relationships can and should the European Union have with these dictatorships and what form should they take. For it is all rather extraordinary. Today everyone says that Mr Mubarak was a dictator. I did not hear that a month ago in the European Parliament. He was not a dictator then. So if you wish to freeze assets, do not simply freeze the assets of Mr Mubarak’s friends, but freeze those of Mr Mubarak and his family, as you did in Mr Ben Ali’s case; you did not just freeze the assets of Mr Ben Ali’s entourage.
Secondly, I believe that what we are seeing today in Egypt and Tunisia is a democratic tsunami. What did we do when a tsunami claimed scores of victims? We mobilised exceptional funds precisely to help the peoples affected. We must now mobilise exceptional funds to help the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt, because the reasons behind the revolt were primarily hunger and poverty, and if this poverty is not alleviated during the democratic transition, there is the danger that some of the protestors will join the ranks, for example, of the fundamentalists and the hardliners. We cannot delay.
I therefore believe that the Commission should offer a substantial package to Tunisia and Egypt and say that democracy is a good thing, because it also brings funding. At the same time, I do not think that a trip by Baroness Ashton is sufficient as things stand today. There must be a special envoy, because we must continue discussions with the committees. For example, in Tunisia and Egypt, the committees re-drafting the constitution do not include members of the opposition parties or women. There are only men, even though women took part in the demonstrations. We must therefore support this process, and I believe that the Commission should do as it did in the past for the East, and offer its help with any constitutional aspects needed – in other words, it must be present on a political, legal and economic level.
I have one last point. On the subject of this region, you are aware that discussions are currently taking place on the technical upgrading of the association agreements with Israel. I do not think that this is the right solution. I do not think that this is the right signal to send out. Israel must be protected, but the policy of everyone in that region, including the Israeli Government, must be reviewed. This is not about calling Israel into question, but rather the policy of its government. To gift Israel today with the technical upgrading of the association agreement would send out a bad signal to the entire region."@en1
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