Brussels, 24/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the CFSP, met high-ranking officials responsible for the EuroMed Process on Thursday 23 April to try to calm matters after the invasion of Gaza and the arrival in power of a new government in Israel which is suspected of being hostile to the peace process. Solana breathed new life into the activity that has been frozen since the start of the year. Arab sources suggest he has only been half-successful. Solana called for trust and patience, saying he had faith in the work of the new American president, Barack Obama. A round table discussion allowed representatives of the Egyptian and the French chairs of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and representatives of Israel and Palestine to express their concerns. The Israeli delegation is reported to have said that Israel was not challenging any of the commitments made during the peace process and called for people to study the formal position of the new government. The Palestinian delegate repeated the Palestinian Authority's views (EUROPE 9885), stating that a relaunch of the EuroMed Process would not be a simple formality like going back to school after the summer holidays. The Egyptians informed the meeting of the Arabs' decision not to reactivate the EuroMed Process but instead to continue dialogue through regular contact between the French and Egyptian joint chairs. This half-result is reported to have a single political aim, namely of not rejecting the European Union as a partner but pointing out that nothing will be the same as the situation before the Gaza invasion. (F.B./transl.fl)