Brussels, 22/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The External Relations council of Monday, once again insisted on the "swift and comprehensive application of the road map" of the Quartet, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in order to speed up the peace process in the Middle East. In this context, the EU has been called on to play a greater role, which as welcomed by Franco Frattini, adding that "this request was made to us by the two parties" with regard to the successive meetings that the Council has had with the respective Israeli and Palestinian foreign Ministers, Silvan Shalom and Nabil Shaath. Mr Frattini also repeated that President Arafat would remain a contact for the EU on the same level as the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
In his conclusions, the Council warned that it would "vigorously" oppose any action that went against implementing the road map and insisted that the two sides agree to the cease-fire agreement and avoid any provocation. It also insisted that in order for progress to be accomplished in the reversal of settlement policy, the freeze on construction of the "separation fence", the release of prisoners and confronting those involved in terrorism. The Council welcomes the efforts made regional partners, such as Egypt and Jordan, in the peace process and is committed to cooperating closely with the Quartet and the United Nations to establish a "monitoring mechanism" to which the EU is "ready to contribute in a substantial way". The Council also welcomes the European Commission's efforts to intensify assistance to the Palestinian Authority, as well as the intention of the US to join this effort by providing direct aid. While offering its total support to the work being done by Mahmoud Abbas, the Council indicated that the Palestinian Authority and its government "deserves global support", which would mean remaining in contact "with all interlocutors in the Palestinian Authority".