Tunis, 15/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The EMPA (EuroMed Parliamentary Assembly) Bureau, meeting in Tunis on 10 February, set the agenda for the annual plenary session to be held in Tunis on 16-17 March. The Bureau is chaired by Foued Mebazaa, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia, and its membership is completed by three deputy chairpersons, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, Ahmezd Fathi Sorour, President of the People's Assembly of Egypt and Anna Benaki-Psarouda, President of the Hellenic Parliament. A triple invitation to address the EMPA has been issued to Commission President José Manuel Barroso, to Javier Solana and to Amr Moussa, EUROPE has learned from a reliable source.
Apart from voting on matters political and security, economic and financial (the proposal to set up a regional bank will be debated within the economic committee) and on cultural affairs and immigration, it was agreed that the Tunis session would focus on this last issue. Mr Pöttering stressed the need for inter-cultural dialogue, and Mr Mebazaa proposed a debate on the challenges of employment in the EuroMed area. There was also discussion of Mr Sorour's proposal for a special session in June, to be devoted to the Middle East situation. The idea has been accepted but the decision has yet to be formalised. The Bureau also decided on a number of points submitted by chairpersons of committees, firstly, on amending the EMPA rules on the composition of delegations that the Assembly might have to designate. The idea would be not to name MPs from a country in dispute with the country to be visited by the delegation. The matter came up very soon after the recent war in Lebanon. The request by Israeli MP Magali Whbee, deputy chair of the EMPA policy committee, to be included in a delegation, was met with refusal. The Bureau noted the point and, without coming down on one side or the other, sent it for consideration to a working group on internal rules, chaired by EPP-ED MEP Edward MacMillan Scott. Current EMPA President Mr Mebazaa emphasised the need for greater efficiency and flexibility in EMPA activities and those of its committees. In addition, the Bureau did not agree to the request to turn an ad hoc committee on women's rights into a permanent committee, but extended its mandate by one year, until March 2008. The plenary session will also have to formalise the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, whose representatives will sit alongside the MPs from the other EU member states (with the notable exception of the British parliament, which has consistently refused to join the EMPA). The session will close with the rotating EMPA presidency being passed to Anna Benaki-Psarouda, who will hold office until March 2008.
Pöttering: against the “clash of civilisations” - Build “an intellectual and cultural bridge across the Mediterranean”
On his return from Tunis, and in his inaugural speech in Strasbourg, Mr Pöttering said, “Europe's future is dependent to a great extent on successful coexistence among cultures and religions within the European Union and between the European Union and our neighbours, first and foremost in the Arab and Islamic world. We as the European Parliament must encourage and support examples of European civil society that are dedicated to dialogue between cultures”. Referring to the work of the “Tres Culturas” organisation and to his Spanish predecessor, the president stressed the need to “actively support every example of coexistence in Europe of Christians, Muslims and Jews - and also, of course, of those who do not belong to any of these religions”. He explicitly rejected the “clash of civilisations” and expressed his desire for an “intellectual and cultural bridge across the Mediterranean”. He went on, “This dialogue must be grounded in tolerance and truth. Tolerance means respecting the convictions of the other while maintaining one's own, and this coexisting peacefully”. He spoke of his intention to visit the EU's neighbouring Arab countries and the Middle East. And when visiting EU countries, he will try to have talks with “ethnic minorities, particularly their younger members”. (fb)