Brussels, 26/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Rabat on 24-25 March, the Euromed Joint Parliamentary Assembly elected the current president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as its president. Schulz was chosen from the four members of the Assembly's bureau: - the EP; - the president of a European national parliament, in this case Franco Fini of Italy; - and two parliaments of the southern rim, namely the Moroccan and Jordanian parliaments.
The meeting was held at a time when several parliaments of the southern Mediterranean are more focused on their internal concerns, and when Euro-Mediterranean dialogue is finding it difficult to take off. The Middle East dossier, relegated to second place since the Arab revolutions, again came under the attention of the Assembly. Members of the party in power in Morocco, the Islamist “Justice and Democracy Party” (PJD), boycotted the session in order to protest against the presence of Israeli delegates.
During his speech in plenary, Schulz said he was nonetheless convinced that, by showing proof of political will and vision, they could all move forward together in many areas of cooperation. He does not despair of giving life to an assembly that must not, he said, content itself with existing on the sidelines of a UfM that is in a bad way. Regarding the Mediterranean, he considers that disgruntled persons will only see it as a “border of insecurity”. The president of the European Parliament sees it as a marvellous laboratory for globalisation where a prosperous future can be played out for around 800 million people.
Schulz affirmed the three priorities of the presidency of the Joint Assembly to: - rally to strengthening the role of the new elected representatives and the new parliaments; - ensure that the needs of citizens are reflected in the activities of the Union for the Mediterranean or in European neighbourhood policy; - and promote the implementation of major projects for fostering growth and jobs. He also went on to underline the importance of seeking peace in the Middle East. (FB/transl.jl)