Brussels, 29/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - From 2001 on, the European Union's Special Envoy for the Middle East, Miguel Angel Moratinos, will become the European Union's Special Representative for the Peace Process. The EU Council adopted a Joint Action (published in the Official Journal L 318) repealing the Joint Action of 25 November 1996 on the designation of a Special Representative for the Middle East, which expires on 31 December 2000. The new Joint Action provides above all that operational expenditure related to the mission of the Special Representative should be EUR 1,285,280 for the year 2001, and that this amount should be allocated to financing the operating expenditure of the EU-Israel Forum, task forces on the final status and expenditure relating to cooperation within the EU/Palestine Security Committee.
The Joint action specifies that the Special Representative, who reports directly to the General Secretary/High Representative (Javier Solana), has mainly the mandate to: - keep close contact with all the parties of the peace process, the other countries of the region, the United States and other interested countries, as well as the relevant international organisations, in order to work with them in strengthening the peace process; - observe peace negotiations and being ready to offer the European Union's advice and good offices should the parties request this; - contribute , "where requested, to the implementation of international agreements reached between parties and engage with them diplomatically in the event of non-compliance with the terms of these agreements"; - report to the Council's bodies on the "possibilities for European Union intervention in the peace process and on the best way of pursuing European Union initiatives and ongoing Middle East peace-process-related European Union business, including the political aspects of relevant European Union development projects; - monitor actions by either side which might prejudice the outcome of the permanent status negotiations; - contribute to a better understanding of the EU's role among opinion leaders in the region.