Washington, 08/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - "Mr CFSP", Javier Solana, will be on the committee responsible for establishing the facts that have led to the wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians since the end of September. The Charm-el-Cheikh summit decided to set up the committee on 17 October. The White House has announced that the committee will be chaired by George Mitchell, former US Senator who acted as mediator in Northern Ireland, another former US Senator, Warren Rudman, Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland, the EU High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana and the former Turkish president, Suleyman Demirel. The committee's mandate, which will "work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority", is to proceed to "objective and independent examination of the current crisis and the means to prevent it from happening again".
EU circles note that, with the presence of Mr Solana (as well as the Norwegian minister), the political role of Europe in the Middle East is recognised and affirmed alongside the economic role that has always been preponderant. The presidency of the European Council welcomed Mr Solana's designation by the president of the United States and the UN Secretary General, with the agreement of the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.