Brussels, 20/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 April, Borge Brende, who is the chairperson of the ad hoc liaison committee for Palestine and also Norway's foreign minister, expressed his concern at developments in the Middle East, which are making the single-state, rather than two-state, solution increasingly credible.
“We are concerned to see (…) more and more developments for a single-state reality on the ground”, he said ahead of the committee meeting in Brussels. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini for her part said that “the developments on the ground - including the expansion of settlements - fundamentally challenged the two state solutions and were also obstacles to Palestinian economic development”. “This trend must be reversed urgently”, she added.
Mogherini and Brende called for the resumption of peace talks. “It is really important to move out of the deadlock and return to a true political process”, Brende stated, saying that resumption of the political negotiations was “urgently needed”.
Brende said it was important for the Palestinian Authority to be ready when there is a two-state solution. “Particularly when there is no political process, strengthening the economy and the Palestinian institutions is the key for preserving [the desire for] a two-state solution”, he said.
In the summary of the meeting, the liaison committee underlines the need to continue improving the budget situation of the Palestinian Authority by settling the economic issues that are on hold between the Israelis and Palestinians, through a more effective mechanism for paying taxes back to the Palestinian Authority and through the dialogue between the two finance ministers. The continuation of reforms by the Palestinian Authority to support long term economic growth and job creation through investment from the private sector and trade is also needed, the committee states. The budget clean-up of the Palestinian Authority is a priority, it adds.
The liaison committee calls once again on the donors, who committed to help the reconstruction of Gaza at the Cairo conference in 2014, to keep their pledge. “There is still much to be done on the reconstruction of Gaza”, Brende stated.
Elsewhere, the Council of the EU adopted the decision on Monday 18 April to extend the mandate of Italian national Fernando Gentilini until 28 February 2017 as EU special representative for the Middle East peace process. The Council's decision was published in the Official Journal on Tuesday 19 April. Gentilini's mandate previously ran until 30 April 2016. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)