Brussels, 30/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Following the decision at the United Nations General Assembly to give the state of Palestine observer status, the European Union's Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Andreas Reinicke, stressed the importance on 30 November of a resumption of talks, saying that with the vote behind us, it was time to look to the future and the EU expected both sides to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible. He told a group of reporters that the EU27 member states have pointed out in a common statement (see EUROPE 10741) that they share a single vision for a two-state solution in the future.
European Parliament welcomes outcome of the vote. Pointing out that the European Parliament backed the Palestinian resolution, Parliament president Martin Schulz said it was an important step to make Palestinian demands more visible, stronger and more effective. He said the UN Assembly General vote was not an alternative to a negotiated solution acceptable to both sides and he called on the two sides to do everything in their power to return to the negotiating table and ensure the resumption of direct peace talks.
Co-president of the Greens/EFA group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, said the vote was historic and an important step in the future peace talks in the Middle East conflict. Giving Palestinians non-member status will help them ensure better balance ahead of any resumption of talks, explained Cohn-Bendit.
The head of the S&D group, Hannes Swoboda of Austria, and Belgium's Véronique De Keyser said they were “relieved” by the vote, which would support people in Palestine who have been aspiring for years to a negotiated end to the conflict.
The head of the GUE group, Gabi Zimmer of Germany, said the observer state status was truly necessary to move towards a two-state solution. Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (GUE, Cyprus) said he thought the vote would act as a catalyst for reunifying the Palestinian people and would lead to the resumption of direct talks to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Divided Europe. At the vote at the UN Assembly General on Thursday 29 November, the member states were divided about the resolution drafted by President Abbas, which 138 countries voted for, 41 abstained (including many European countries) and 9 voted against.
Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, Greece, Sweden, Portugal and Austria voted in favour of the resolution.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Estonia and the United Kingdom abstained and the Czech Republic voted against. (CG/transl.fl)