Brussels, 02/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, thanked the European Union on Wednesday for its “generous” financial and technical assistance to the Palestinian people and government for the creation of a Palestinian State, but he also asked for the EU to become more of a player on the Middle East political stage. Speaking to the press in Brussels after his meeting with the EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, Mr Abbas expressed his wish for the EU to play “a major political role in the peace process, notably within the Quartet”, whilst noting that the Palestinians still needed the EU's help in implementing the structures of the future Palestinian State. “We expect Europe to play a major political role, but also in all forms of assistance on its part, be it in the field of security, administration and many others”, said Mr Abbas. The Palestinian President also reiterated his condemnation of the attack in Tel Aviv last Friday, which could scupper the efforts of the Palestinian Authority “and which can only hinder the progress of the peace process”. “I assured Mr Solana that Palestinian society and Palestinian organisations have almost all denounced the attack and consider it as an obstacle on the road to peace”, he said. He also pointed out that the separation wall built by Israel and the Jewish colonies on Palestinian territory are “against international law”. “Colonisation and the wall are entirely illegal. They are built on our territory and cannot be anything other than a hindrance to the peace process”, he said. These issues are on the agenda for talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Mr Abbas stressed. Javier Solana supported Mr Abbas on this point, repeating the view of the Quartet, which is that “nothing will be accepted on the ground which prejudged the final status of the negotiations”.
Mr Solana also told the press that the Palestinians can always count on the support of the EU to “realise their dream of having a State which is able to live in peace with its nearest neighbour, Israel, and its other neighbours”. “We will be with you until the 'roadmap' for the peace process is a reality”, he said. When will this objective be reached? “The sooner the better”, Mr Solana replied. What the Palestinians have achieved in recent months and how they have been able to manage very difficult situations- presidential elections, inauguration of a new Presidency of the Palestinian Authority, setting a new government in place- is “really fantastic”, said Mr Solana, adding that Mr Abbas is a President who deserves the trust of all parties, because “he has always complied with what he said”. Since the presidential elections (“I will never forget that day, when I was present in Gaza and Ramallah”), the Palestinians once again have a feeling of “pride and hope” and “we want that to continue”, he said.
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said after his meeting with Mr Abbas that the EU is “obviously very disappointed” to see that some of the projects it has supported in the Palestinian territories “with the European tax-payers' money” have been destroyed by the Israeli army. “It is clear that we must put an end to violence in the region and I have discussed this with Mr Abbas. It is vital that all Palestinian movements renounce violence and that there are no more terrorist attacks. On this, we have been very encouraged by the strong reactions of Mr Abbas and the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the recent suicide attack. We are also encouraged by the reaction of the Palestinian people who, we believe, really want peace”. Despite the destruction of infrastructure by the Israeli army during the second Intifada, Mr Abbas said that aid provided by the EU had not been in vain. “Today, we are talking about a new era in peace and hope (…). Let us be optimistic and let us remain so”, he told the press. “We hope that the EU will continue its efforts to make the forthcoming elections (parliamentary and municipal) a success”, he added. Mr Abbas also invited Mr Barroso on an official visit to the Palestinian territory. On Wednesday evening, Mahmoud Abbas met Jean-Claude Juncker.