Brussels, 02/08/2006 (Agence Europe) - While the EU Extraordinary Council on 1st August focused on the conflict in Lebanon and limited itself to calling for an “immediate end to hostilities” between Israel and Hezbollah (EUROPE 9244), MEPs too called for a genuine cease-fire. This demand is formulated by president Borrell in a letter addressed to the president of the Council Erkki Tuomioja, which followed the extraordinary meeting on Lebanon of the Conference of presidents of the EP's political groups (EUROPE 9244) before the conclusion of the EU foreign affairs ministers' work.
In his letter Josep Borrell indicates that the Conference of presidents had confirmed its position of 20 July (EUROPE 9237) and called on him to send the following conclusions to the Council: we strongly condemn the Israeli attack on the village of Qana, where more than half of the victims were children, as well as the killing of four UN observers: we believe that all kinds of attacks on civilians are totally unjustified; we stress the need for full implementation of all related United Nations resolutions; - as the conflict has reached a stage “where the credibility of the EU as a whole is at stake, we urge the Council, at its meeting today, to unanimously demand an immediate ceasefire, and to act accordingly within the United Nations' bodies concerned”.
Several MEPs launched a number of practical ideas for trying to get out of the impasse. Therefore, speaking for the Greens/EFA group, Hélène Flautre, president of the “human rights” sub-committee requested in the context of an international inquiry “in the wake of the Qana massacre”, the organising of the Council on Human Rights, “the new UN body, which in emergencies can meet up” in an effort to get international humanitarian law respected, notably in connection with the law involving protection of civilians. David Hammerstein from Spain proposed “a big international conference to obtain a sustainable peace” (the co-president of the group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit also made this demand) and suggested “We should be able to use the future EU/Syria association agreement in an effort to encourage Damascus to play a positive role in disarming Hezbollah”.