Brussels, 27/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) is meeting on Friday 28 March in Athens for its 4th session, which will essentially focus on the themes of energy and the environment. Debates on others subjects, however, are not ruled out - particularly the situation in Gaza, a very controversial subject, and the perception of Islam in the film planned by a Dutch MP, which according to different opinions, is judged to be either blasphemous, provocative or simply an exercise in the freedom of expression. This new “incident”, following the “Danish cartoons” affair, has already affected debates at different committees and working groups, as has been the case in Brussels recently. This might also be the case during the final meetings of these bodies on the eve of the session in Athens, which is due to prepare the joint texts for the plenary acts, the political and security, economic and social aspects, as well as those on social and cultural cooperation. The idea for a debate on the Union for the Mediterranean project had been put forward, but its inclusion on the agenda a few days away from the plenary session has not been confirmed. Thematic reports will be examined and proposed by the committees and working groups after the plenary.
One of the striking points in the 4th session will be the updating of the structures, initially with the nomination of a new president. The candidacy of Hans-Gert Pöttering appears to be favourite, as opposed to that of the president of the Jordanian parliament. There will also be a reshuffle in the four-man bureau - a representative from the European Parliament, one from one of the national parliaments of the EU member states, a representative each from the eastern and western Mediterranean countries and one from the Maghreb. These posts have so far been held by the European Parliament (Mr Pöttering took over from Josep Borrell), the Greek, Egyptian and Tunisian parliaments. The rotation will mean that Mr Pöttering remains in the bureau. The Italian parliament will take over from the Greek; the Tunisian will pass on the reigns to Morocco, and Egypt will pass them on to Jordan. There will then be a rotation in the presidencies and vice-presidencies of the committees. The question of distributing these different posts, the way in which EMPA functions (a laboriously constructed internal regulation, funding of activities, the planned implementation of a permanent secretariat) has very often relegated content to second place; debates and resolutions are limited to passionate and sometimes heated debates, but the positions are presented “en bloc”. The European Parliament, for example, only comes to the sessions with a position that has already been negotiated between its political groups and does not allow for debates with the other partners. This would appear to suggest that the Euro-Med Assembly is still struggling to complete its phase of democratic growth. This can be illustrated by the way in which the vote is still not one of a real assembly (close to consensus). All the different countries, including Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine participate in it. Only one member state has been missing from the beginning, the United Kingdom, which does not recognise the validity of this body. Scandinavian countries had a similar position but are now beginning to demonstrate a positive attitude to this assembly that is still in its construction phase. One of the underlying problems is the fact that EMPA is in direct completion with another assembly, consisting of presidents from the national parliaments from all EU countries and the Mediterranean rim. Rivalry persists, despite the numerous approaches made by Josep Borrell when he chaired EMPA. (F.B.)