Strasbourg, 17/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - “The Jasmine Revolution is continuing. This is a historic occasion. I hail the courage and determination of the Tunisian people,” said European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. “We hope that Tunisia's transition to the rule of law is peaceful. We hope that free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections will be held,” he went on, urging the EU and its North African partner to work together, “first and foremost, to serve the people” of Europe as well as Tunisia.
The leaders of the political groups are united in demanding that the Tunisian people's desire for democracy receive a positive response from the EU. José Salafranca Sanchez (Spain), on behalf of the EPP, urged caution: with the danger of the political vacuum attracting extremists, the EU must do all it can to make sure the transition process is not derailed. Pierantonio Panzeri (Italy) of the S&D Group called for a new vision in policy towards the countries of the southern rim of the Mediterranean, in passing deriding the failure of a Union for the Mediterranean which is still only a “pure façade”. On behalf of the ALDE Group, Marietje Schaake (Netherlands) said: “The people have called for democracy and an end of corruption”. Daniel Cohn-Bendit (France), joint leader of the Greens-EFA Group, did not manage to get agreement on a vote on a resolution: “The situation is going to be tense in Tunisia, action has to be taken now” on the basis of a text to be adopted with all haste, he argued. “The dictator has been ousted, but the structure of dictatorship still remains”, and European governments have underpinned it for many years, he regretted. For the ECR Group, Charles Tannock (UK) highlighted the progress made in Tunisian society, while stressing the need for real reform. Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL, France) stated that her group had always criticised the excesses of the Tunisian regime, and she called on the European institutions to go further than “timid press releases” calling simply for restraint in repression. (L.G./E.H./transl.rt)