Strasbourg, 13/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The President of the EU Council, Josep Piqué, pointed out on Wednesday, to the European plenary, that the Spanish Presidency is currently preparing a declaration on the situation in the Middle East. This declaration outlines the position of the Council in terms that are "clear and precise" and is expected to be adopted at the European Council of Barcelona. Mr Piqué explained that the resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday evening and the "impeccable" declaration of President Cox, expressed, in an open hearing, the anxieties of Parliament about unprecedented levels of violence. It also expressed support for the EU Envoy, Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose courage and commitment was praised by Mr Piqué. Josep Piqué also reasserted the conviction that there was no military solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict: the only solution was, "peaceful co-existence between the two states, Israeli and Palestinian states that were viable politically, economically, socially and territorially (Mr Piqué said twice, applauded by MEPs. He added that the first thing to obtain was an immediate cease-fire whilst working on the themes of security and the reintroduction of political and economic perspectives. Amongst the numerous initiatives that are on the table, Mr Piqué welcomed that of Saudi Arabia. He concluded that if a solution can not be found in the USA, Europe or Russia, then the Arab world had to be involved. European Commissioner Gunter Verheugen also briefly commented on recent events whilst hoping that reason would prevail.
Pat Cox pointed out that he intended to invite Simon Peres and Yasser Arafat to Parliament. The Presidents of the political groups confirmed their support for this proposal, as well as that of a high-level Parliamentary delegation to the region.