Brussels, 01/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On 30 March, at the Arab League summit in Doha, which is being cold-shouldered by a number of heads of state, in particular Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, it was decided that the Arab troika and the secretary general of the Arab League would be sent to Brussels - at a date yet to be decided - to express regret that the EU is seeking closer relations with Israel “despite its continuing policy of suffocating the Palestinian territories and its aggressive behaviour (in Gaza) which stands at odds with the spirit of neighbourhood” between countries in the region. The final declaration states explicitly that increased European relations with Israel would have an impact on Euro-Arab relations. A group of Arab parliamentarians will be given the task of raising awareness of this point in the European Parliament.
Elsewhere, the summit took stock of Euro-Mediterranean relations, confirming Egypt in its role as coordinator of the group of Arab Mediterranean rim states, despite increasingly loud challenges over the last few weeks. A summit decision is required if the Euro-Med process, suspended since the invasion of Gaza at the end of December 2008, is to be resumed. It made no comment on this issue, however. It restricted itself to noting that the Arab peace initiative remained the central reference, even though, during discussions among Arab heads of state, it was said that the initiative could be rendered null and void if Israel rejected the hand held out to it. It would seem clear that the Arab countries are now awaiting the new governing coalition in Israel and its plans for resuming the peace process. The summit backed a proposal to appoint a Jordanian to the post of Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean. This appointment took place by default as no other Arab country would agree to regular contact with Israel. Of the Arab states, only Jordan, Egypt and Morocco have official relations with Israel. (F.B./transl.rt)