Brussels, 15/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - As Catherine Ashton has been in the Middle East all week, she was again replaced, at the plenary debate on Wednesday 14 September, by Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs Miko³aj Dowgielewicz, to take stock of the peace process. The Union remains resolute that no possibility to bring the parties closer together should be overlooked, considering this as a moral necessity. The last Quartet meeting, on 6 July, confirmed the need to reactivate the process although, unfortunately, current conditions for doing so are not the most favourable.
During her meetings in the Middle East, Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, was adamant that there should be unity within the Union with regards the peace process and the parameters for negotiation. These are that there should be no preconditions but that a framework should be set in place allowing talks to be resumed. There must also be agreement on the borders of the two states along the June 1967 lines, respect of Palestine's sovereignty and of Israel's security, and a solution to the refugee problem. An answer must also be found to the status of Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
Catherine Ashton is determined to uphold the Union's unity during the meeting of the UN General Assembly, to be held in a week's time in New York. Before going there, she is to have another meeting with the members of the Arab League in Cairo. The representative of the Council has clearly said that the EU acknowledges that the Palestinian authorities have made sufficient progress to claim the status of a state - and it is now necessary to prove to them that their efforts have not been in vain.
Speaking on behalf of the EPP Group, José Ignacio Salafranco Sánchez-Neyra of Spain underlined current difficulties, especially since the attack against the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. The meeting of the United Nations General Assembly provides an opportunity for this. The Union must speak with a single voice, focusing on two objectives: breaking the deadlock, and ensuring that neither party feels it has been wronged.
On behalf of the S&D Group, Véronique De Keyser of Belgium said that, in one week from now, President Abbas will be calling on the UN to recognise the Palestinian state. She said it would be a historic moment that would place Europeans “up against the wall”, before urging that the EU aid Palestinians to take the step that they deserve, and to which they are entitled. She considers that, on the strength of that recognition, Palestinians could return to the negotiating table on a more equal footing. The Union must be united on this point, De Keyser went on, saying that it is European credibility with regard to the Arab spring that is at stake. She added: “The UN, that is the Arab spring of the Palestinians”.
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (GUE/NGL, Cyprus) shares the conviction that recognition of the Palestinian state as a member of the United Nations would facilitate the resumption of talks, placing it on an equal footing with Israel. Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (ALDE, Belgium) trusts that the countries of the Union will, in New York, remain true to their policy line on the Middle East. In the same group, Niccolò Rinaldi of Italy is not over optimistic. Confirming the friendship being shown to the Palestinian people, that has been through so much suffering, and the special link with Israel (which, he said, is “part of our family”), Rinaldi raised doubt as to the Europeans' ability to show themselves firmly united in New York.
Franziska Brantner (Greens/EFA, Germany) says one should not be influenced by the Americans, and pictures the possibility of a special status for Palestine at the UN, after the fashion of that held by the Vatican. Konrad Szymañski of Poland, speaking on behalf of the ECR Group, stressed the need to ensure that freedom of worship is respected everywhere, including in the Middle East countries.
Several MEPs criticised Israel's settlement policy, especially Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP, Netherlands) and Proínsías de Rossa (S&D, Ireland). The language used by the former EP president, German Christian Democrat Hans-Gert Pöttering, was even clearer. He pointed out: “Israel's security will not be guaranteed in the future unless a Palestinian state is created at its borders.” Even if a negotiated solution is preferable, Israel's “illegal” settlement policy isolates it. A number of MEPs are frankly opposed to Palestine's entry to the UN, especially Nick Griffin (BNP, UK), who considers it a “corrupt” regime, and Bastiaan Belder (EFD, Netherlands), and Peter van Dalen (ECR, Netherlands). The latter, moreover, targeted criticism at the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of wanting to bring back the “Ottoman Empire”. (LG/transl.jl)