Brussels, 09/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - Senior officials responsible for following up EuroMed Dialogue, who met in Brussels on 7 July, decided to meet again in Barcelona on 16 July to pursue examination of the status of the future secretariat general of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
For their first effective meeting since the Gaza crisis, the group of senior officials took the view that activity should be considered resumed, not because the reasons for suspending participation by the Arab Group have disappeared but in respect of the EU's position in the conflict with Israel, the Palestinian representative, Majed Bamia, said in substance.
The day before, during an inter-Arab coordination session, a stance “by default” had been expressed - there being no more objections on this matter - despite the fact that the common position decreed by the Arab League was maintained, i.e. to avoid meetings of a political nature involving Israel. This stance should be maintained in theory, being observed only on a case by case basis. Such a situation gave rise to other remarks on the weakening motivation of partner countries and the confusion that seems to reign over Euro-Mediterranean prospects. According to Professor Tuomo Melasuo, there is the risk that one could find oneself in a backward position compared to last year, when the UfM was launched in Paris. In an interview with the online news site MedAfrique, he said “this is not only due to the war and crisis in Gaza”. Professor Melasuo is director of research at the university of Tampere in Finland and heads the research project for the Mediterranean, TAPRI. He is also a member of FEMISE (Forum Euroméditérranéen des Instituts de Sciences Economiques) and is an associate member of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for dialogue between cultures. “We shall have to inject a little more common sense into all that (as) the approach initiated in Paris seems to be increasingly confused and lacks coherence”, he said, going on to say: “There is an urgent need to return to the table and even, if I may speak figuratively, to clean the work table”. He also commented that the Swedish-French “deal” (for sharing co-presidency) flouts European rules and does not respect equality between the 27 member states of the EU.
Furthermore, senior officials meeting on Monday gathered as members of the governing council of the Anna Lindh Foundation for scrutiny of the progress report and to designate a president, in this case the Slovenian ambassador, Veronika Stabej, and a vice-president, Professor Mohamed Mahjoub of Tunisia. Half of the financing for the foundation comes from the European Commission (€5 million) and the other half from member state contributions.
We would also note that the EMPA (EuroMed Parliamentary Assembly) bureau met on 4 July. The new European Parliament has still to decide on renewal of its members within the Assembly's structures.
Hans-Gert Pöttering will give up his post at the EMPA bureau to be succeeded by the next president of the European Parliament. (F.B./transl.jl)