Brussels, 03/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 2 February, at the European Parliament (EP) mini-session in Brussels, MEPs held a long debate on political developments in the Arab-Mediterranean region, though the focus was, inevitably, on Egypt and Tunisia. It was, however, only on Tunisia that MEPs passed a joint resolution from the EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL (and two ECR members). Egypt will be discussed at the next session in Strasbourg. The head of the European diplomatic service, Catherine Ashton, and the majority of the many speakers on this very sensitive issue noted a worsening in the situation in the county. Some also noted that the Egyptian crisis revealed flaws in the way joint diplomacy was working.
During the debate, strong criticism was made of Ashton's department, “taken by surprise” according to some, and wasting taxpayers' money according to others. A clearly exasperated Ashton replied, setting out all that her department had achieved in a difficult situation and at a time when the European External Action Service (EEAS) was still being put in place. Then she declared: “I can't be held responsible for what I inherited”.
In their resolution, MEPs hailed the Tunisian people who had brought their country to a “historic political watershed” and applauded “their courage and determination”. In debate, however, many expressed concern at not knowing where Tunisia was headed. The first to say so, Adrian Severin (S&D, Romania) warned: “While the social upheaval brings a guarantee of change, there is no guarantee that this change will be for the better”. The spectre of the emergence of extremist religious tendencies in Tunisia, though more especially in Egypt, was raised by several MEPs, some concerned about the danger this would present for Israel and the peace process. Uncertainty over the outcome of events was the likely reason behind the removal of a short paragraph from the resolution blaming past political leaders and laying responsibility for the repression at their door.
In the resolution, MEPS emphasise the importance of “all political, social, civic and democratic forces in Tunisia” being represented in the interim government, as this is “the only way to secure for that government the confidence of the people and endow it with the legitimacy it needs to prepare elections and the transition to democracy”. They underline, too, “the importance of creating the necessary conditions for the holding of elections, within a time frame which gives all opposition forces and all the media time to organise at national level, for a new parliamentary assembly with the task of drawing up a democratic constitution which strikes a proper balance between the powers of the executive and the legislature and the independence of the judiciary”. They hope that “all democratic forces which pledge to respect pluralism, freedom of conscience and arrangements for the democratic handover of power will be able to take part in that election”.
On the practical level, MEPs call for “the immediate application by the EU of the decisions to freeze the ill-gotten assets of the Ben Ali family and their associates” and welcome the announcement by the authorities of “their intention to return to the state the movable and immovable assets of the RCD party”. They call on Ashton to establish a taskforce, “involving Parliament”, to meet Tunisia's needs in terms of assistance for its democratic transition process, as expressed by those seeking democratic change, including sending an electoral observation mission to Tunisia. The Council and the Commission are also called on “to be ready to redirect - and if necessary increase - funding under the various financial instruments for EU-Tunisia cooperation”. And the Commission and the EIB are requested to “make provision for support for Tunisia in the form of loans with interest-rate subsidies” in order to enable the Tunisian economy to diversify and offer young Tunisians the prospect of skilled jobs, as part of a “genuine development contract” to foster local and foreign productive investment.
Beyond Tunisia, and the “contagion” which seems to have affected the region, and mainly Egypt, MEPs note “the hope generated by the toppling of the authoritarian regime in Tunisia for a stable democracy could help other peoples to assert the same claims”. They also urge the European Union to “draw lessons … and to revise its democracy and human rights support policy so as to create an implementation mechanism for the human rights clause in all agreements with third countries”. They believe that tackling corruption and the strengthening of the rule of law in third countries are fundamental criteria to meet people's expectations as well as to attract external investment.
Severe criticism in the debates on both Tunisia and Egypt was summarised in a paragraph in the resolution on Tunisia: “whereas the European Union has proved unable to develop a genuine foreign policy that is consistent and effective vis-à-vis its partners”, MEPs call; for “human rights clauses in association agreements to be systematically backed up by a mechanism to implement those clauses; having regard in this context to the ongoing and necessary review of the neighbourhood policy”. (F.B./transl.rt)