Cairo, 13/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, requested of Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, who is currently visiting the Middle East, that the European Union make a "special effort" in favour of the Palestinian Authority, that Israel's economic sanctions have taken to the brink of bankruptcy.
After this appeal for greater Community aid, which is the largest aid made available to the Palestinians by the international community, Yasser Arafat felt that the EU has a historic responsibility to maintain and consolidate the peace process. Mr Aznar affirmed, for his part, that Europe sees conditions for establishing lasting peace in the maintenance of what has been achieved so far by the process. This position is in line with that expressed by the Union's special envoy for the Middle East, Mighel Angel Moratinos, who recalled in Cairo also during a meeting with the Spanish ambassadors on post in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, that there should be no step backward compared to the Taba Agreements. This will no doubt be repeated on Wednesday by the Spanish Prime Minister to Mr Ariel Sharon, recently elected Prime Minister of Israel.