Brussels, 01/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, reiterated on Thursday evening during a press conference, alongside the European Commission President, Romano Prodi, and Commissioner Chris Patten, his called for the sending of international observers on the ground. The issue was one of the core themes of their meetings, and it was also the case during the dinner that gathered together Yasser Arafat and Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP, in the presence of the European special envoy to the region, Miguel Angel Moratinos. All the European speakers, (see yesterday's EUROPE, page 7) put across their sentiments to Mr Arafat, but they underlined that possible observer action would be ineffective if it was not accepted by all parties.
Mr Prodi felt that the events of recent days are terrible, and, when speaking directly to Mr Arafat, he encouraged him to deploy all his efforts to contain the radical forces and prevent terrorism. He also felt that the situation in the Middle East would be raised during the EU/United States summit in Gothenburg. Cooperation with the United States will be one element of the international efforts deployed to translate into fact the report recommendations, said Mr Prodi, who reaffirmed the European desire to play a part in the search for a peaceful solution. Mr Patten recalled the various aids provided to the Palestinian Authority. This role by the EU was solemnly welcomed by Mr Arafat who, especially in this period of great political difficulty, but also economic, hoped for greater European efforts to find a fair and long-lasting peace. Mr Arafat and Mr Prodi both paid tribute to Faycal Husseini, who died on Thursday. Mr Prodi praised his spirit of tolerance and his action for peace, when hoping that his efforts will not have been in vain.
Javier Solana paid a similar tribute, during the dinner with Yasser Arafat and Miguel Angle Moratinos (who will represent the EU at the funeral of Mr Husseini). Mr Solana underlined during these meetings that the Mitchell report offers a "unique opportunity" for peace, when insisting on the need to accept its recommendations as a whole.
On Thursday, Yasser Arafat met the European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine, who spoke in favour of the sending of an observer mission to the Palestinians territories. Yasser Arafat asserted as for him that the latest resolutions adopted by the European Parliament on the Middle East were an extremely important element, indicated an EP press release.