Strasbourg, 03/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament respected a one minute silence in tribute to the victims of the violence in the Middle East. Previously, standing, the MEP heard a statement in which President nicole Fontaine recalled that over the past few days, "Jerusalem and other towns and Palestinian territories had unfortunately flared up (…). On behalf of the European Parliament, I wish to express my deepest emotion at this new outbreak of violence". She then noted: "At a time when the peace process is in a crucial phase, with real but fragile breakthroughs, the visit to the Esplanade of the Mosques by Mr. Ariel Sharon can only be seen as a provocation". Ms. Fontaine launched an appeal to the international community to "do all it can to help tie back the threads of the dialogue".
Providing his support for Ms. Fontane's statement, the Spanish President of the Socialist Group, Enrique Baron proposed that the issue be raised in the framework of the debate on the preparation of the Biarritz Summit. "We must tell our Israeli friends that a democratic government cannot fight children throwing stones with tanks", he said. The President of the EPP/ED Group, Hans-Gert Poettering (CDU) spoke of a "genuine tragedy" and welcomed the President's statement. Considering that "the agenda cannot be upset", he joined Mr. Baron in proposing that this issue be raised at the next European Council. The French President of the GUE/NGL Group, Francis Wurtz placed emphasis on this issue not being dealt with in a general debate and without being the subject of a concrete stance by Parliament through a resolution. He proposed the organisation of a specific debate or, at least, an emergency debate. Following talks with his colleagues, he suggested that the debate take place either Thursday morning, in the presence of the French Presidency represented by Nicole Pery, or Thursday evening in the presence of the High Representative for Cfsp, Javier Solana (who is already to turn to the situation in Yugoslavia after the elections). The Finnish President of the Green/EFA Group, Heidi Hautala and Irish President of the Liberal Group, Pat Cox, also provided their support for Fontaine's statement and Mr. Wurtz' proposal. At the end of this brief debate, Parliament decided to alter its agenda to add a discussion, Thursday evening, with Mr. Solana on the situation in the Middle East.