Brussels, 27/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - EP President Nicole Fontaine had talks in Brussels on 24 January with Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, and on that occasion recalled that the EU's political role in the Middle East was "far from being up to what it could in fact be playing". As for Mr. Arafat, (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.5), he reaffirmed that the EU had to participate "fully" in the Peace Process, and, welcomed the prospect of receiving Mrs. Fontaine in the Palestinian Territories on 22 February (when, from 20 to 24 February, she will be on a visit to the region, including Israel, Jordan and maybe Syria).
Taking part in the talks with Yasser Arafat were the Euro-MPs Luisa Morgantini, Chair of the EP Committee on relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, and Gerado Galeote, Head of the Delegation for relations with Israel, who will accompany Mrs. Fontaine on her trip to the region. A press release from Mrs. Morgantini states that President Arafat has invited the Euro-MPs, during their visit, to go to with him to Bethlehem. The press release also stipulates that Mr. Arafat has proposed the creation of a "joint ad hoc committee" between Palestinian representatives and European institutions, an that Mrs. Morgantini (who reaffirms that Israel cannot export to Europe products originating in the Palestinian Territories with the label "Made in Israel") also places emphasis on the need for the future Palestinian State to be democratic and, in particular, that it abolish the death penalty, especially as, here, Palestine could "represent an example for the countries of the region". Yasser Arafat, says Mrs. Morgatini, reacted positively, saying he was opposed to the death penalty, "even though the problem is not easy to resolve due to the complexity of the existing legislation" (Egyptian laws are still applied in Gaza, and on the West Bank Jordanian laws, whereas Palestine is still not a State with its own definitive legislation, notes Mrs. Morgantini).