Brussels, 07/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The informal ministerial conference of EU and Mediterranean countries, meeting in Brussels on 5 and 6 November, launched an appeal for the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue on the basis of the Mitchell Report, said Louis Michel, President-in-Office of the Council, referring to its conclusions at the end of the meeting in which Libya, Mauritania and the Arab League took part as observers. The twenty-seven countries hoped for full implementation of the recommendations made in that Report. "We still believe, and possibly more than ever that this plan is the road map that we should try to follow. And if we leave this road map, I believe we shall be taking risks," Louis Michel declared at the final press conference. "The problem today is how to begin to implement the Mitchell Plan", added Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP, for whom it is urgent to "recreate confidence between the two parties".
The search for peace in the Middle East took front stage for the first day of the ministerial conference (see other article too) and a direct meeting between the two main protagonists was organised. According to the Belgian Presidency, new ideas emerged from the meeting - notably a plan concerning Gaza. For their part, neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis referred to further progress. In statements he made on his return home, Yasser Arafat considered that it had simply been a "diplomatic meeting". For Shimon Peres, quoted by the Italian press, his meeting with Yasser Arafat in Brussels had not been intended to lead to a "breakthrough". "The hopes for peace remain alive" but "the work must go on", he had stressed at a press conference in Brussels, considering that "we must not alter plans every day. We must follow the order set out by the Mitchell Plan". The Israeli Foreign Minister also stated: "for now, we don't have a partner who can realise promises".