Strasbourg, 06/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - In this most recent crisis, great hopes have been placed in the European Union, which has shown that it is up to the task by playing an important, indeed leading role. This observation was made by Erkki Tuomioja during the plenary debate opening on Wednesday afternoon, which focused on the situation in the Middle East, particularly the Lebanon. The president of the Council of the EU affirmed that the lesson to be drawn from this crisis is that military force or a unilateral solution cannot solve the problems in the Middle East. He appealed for a swift reinforcement of the Unifil troops in the region. He explained that in their view it was clear that no stability could be achieved without a return to the peace process and Road Map “blocked” since the Palestinian elections last January. To end this situation, the Palestinian government has to “act as a responsible partner, with whom no-one will refuse to negotiate” and that the parties must engage in serious dialogue. At the same time, the Union has to be prepared to intervene on the ground, as it is currently doing.
The need for a political solution to the central problem in the Middle East was reiterated by Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and by practically all the parliamentarians. Ms Ferrero-Waldner insisted on the role played by the European Commission, which since the first week of the crisis, had mobilised its resources for humanitarian aid and evacuation efforts. However, she said that they should not forget the wider context, “the need to return to the calm which held for most of 2005”and to make a commitment to working for reconstruction in the Lebanon and for a solution to the ecological disaster that has occurred there. She insisted that they had to do this under the coordination of the Lebanese government itself.
Assessing the measures taken by countries of the Union and their decision about Unifil, the president of the EPP/ED group, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said that there would be no military “solution” to the Middle East but a military “presence” could contribute to finding a solution. He also stated that “as a German European…I am deeply moved” by the wishes expressed by the Israeli prime minister to see German forces taking part in Unifil. Mr Pöttering is calling on Muslim countries to respect the dignity of their youth and not encourage martyrs but by helping them contribute to the development of their countries. Martin Schulz, the president of the Socialist group reaffirmed that the Palestinian problem was the source of the conflict and called for dialogue and “small steps to be taken that could be understood by all”, which even included Damascus. He admitted that the Socialists had been disappointed by Syria's attitude but admitted that they needed the country on board. Mr Schulz asked whether an exercise similar to that of the CSCE, which had proved itself during the Cold War, could be conceivable for the Middle East. ALDE president Graham Watson said that Unifil's mandate had to be clarified and that the long term should not be forgotten and measures should be taken so that new generations in the region could grow up in peace. He said that if they had had a Constitution they would have been equipped differently for tackling this crisis. He was backed up by the chairman of the constitutional committee, Jo Leinen, who spoke of the “cost of not having a Constitution”. He congratulated Commissioner Louis Michel for the swiftness of his reaction and Romano Prodi for his courage, as well as Turkey for its willingness to contribute to Unifil action. Daniel Cohn-Bendit the president of the Greens/EFA said that they should be prepared to criticise themselves, they had had UN Resolution No. 1552 but had been blinded and that “we know what to do in a region where it is easy to make mistakes if we're attached to one side or other but politics is something else, it's finding solutions that 'get things moving' in the region. Perhaps I'm just a dreamy kid but I would have liked to have seen European soldiers and not French or Italian soldiers in Lebanon”, asserted the German Green. He called on the presidents of the ALDE and GUE/NGL groups to tell their respective parties in Germany that it is “scandalous” to oppose German participation. General Philippe Morillon (ALDE) had told him, “no, you're not a dreamy kid or I am rather than you” (by stressing the dramatic lesson of the Balkans, which should not be forgotten), so that Unifil troops are “respected and therefore strong…which implies that they have suitable resources and that they can use them and not only in cases of legitimate self-defence”. The verdict of Francis Wurtz, president of the GUE/NGL on the Union's action in the conflict was more guarded: the Council and the European governments were incapable of calling for a cease-fire and at the beginning, he deplored, sought to excuse the Israeli government but that the last few days appeared to indicate a certain “recovery” by the EU. EUROPE will be returning to this issue.