Brussels, 25/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The two co-presidencies of the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean), France and Egypt, as well as Spain which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, brought together their three foreign ministers in Cairo, on Sunday 23 May, to assess the situation since deferral of the summit, initially scheduled for 7 June, until November this year.
Miguel Angel Moratinos of Spain, Ahmed Aboul Gheit of Egypt and Bernard Kouchner of France have stated their resolve to continue preparing the summit despite the obstacles caused by the political situation in the region. The Spanish EU Presidency asserts that the three countries have “closed ranks” to defend the “importance and excellence” of the UfM. The three ministers underlined that the summit's postponement is due to the determination to ensure it is a “total success”. The first summit, in Barcelona in 2005, to celebrate the ten years of Euro-Mediterranean dialogue, was a memorable failure. Moratinos trusts the next summit will be an important event to celebrate the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue's 15th anniversary.
Ministers underlined the fact that the decision to postpone the summit was above all taken in order to provide an opportunity for the indirect talks begun on 9 May between Palestinians and Israelis, with the support of the United States - which would take four months.
It would have been “too soon” to hold the UfM summit at the beginning of the process, Kouchner said, cited by the Spanish press service. “The UfM was created to resolve crises, not to trigger them”, said Moratinos of Spain during a final press conference in Cairo, saying the situation in the Middle East was the reason for putting off the summit. (F.B./transl.jl)