Brussels, 15/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, mainly evoked the situation in the Middle East when he answered questions put to him at the Neunmünster Abbey in Luxembourg by chairpersons of the parliamentary committees on foreign affairs of the EU Member States and candidate countries. According to a press release from the Luxembourg Presidency, Mr Juncker above all said, on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that, although it was heavy going in the past, there are now friendships growing. He has, he said, called on Palestinians and Israelis to write a joint letter to him on their very short term needs. He added that, if they do send the joint letter, then the European Union will have achieved something that was unthinkable just a few months ago. On the subject of Lebanon, the Luxembourg Prime Minister stressed the need to maintain pressure on Syria with a view to its complete withdrawal of troops and secret services, while admitting that the troop withdrawal already begun might not be sufficient. On the subject of recent pro-Syrian demonstrations in Beirut, Mr Juncker noted that the “Hezbollah has demonstrated that it is a political force to be reckoned with”.