Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-06-Speech-3-254"
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"en.20000906.11.3-254"2
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". – Water will be a crucial issue for the Middle East in the coming decades. The region has the lowest per capita availability of water anywhere in the world and it is steadily decreasing. Water is indeed one of the main issues of the Middle East peace process, not only in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians but also between Israel and Syria. The Commission's policy focuses on the various dimensions of the water question in the Middle East, the security as well as the economic, environmental and social dimensions.
Just and comprehensive water agreements between Israel and its neighbours, sustained by effective regional cooperation, are necessary for lasting peace in the region. The Commission is an active participant in, and a main donor to, the multilateral water working group of the MEPP. As a concrete contribution we have committed another EUR 4 million in 1999 for the completion of the regional water data banks. We also promote the concept of a regional cooperation structure. The Council's special taskforce on water in the Middle East has met with the Israeli, Jordanian and the Palestinian water commissioners and is actively coordinating EU water policy.
The Commission's policy aims at helping the region to achieve a sustainable management of the scarce water resources in combination with assistance to explore new resources. Current water management and consumption in the Middle East cannot be sustained. Estimates suggest that in the overall Mediterranean region agriculture absorbs over two thirds of total national water consumption, while accounting for only one third of GNP and labour. This discrepancy is even sharper in the Middle East. Therefore assisting reform of domestic water policies in the countries of the Middle East is a priority. Indeed the Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers Conference in Stuttgart in 1999 decided to make water a priority for the partnership. As a first result the EUR 40 million action plan adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial conference on local water management in Turin in October 1999 would provide a further opportunity for cooperation in this sector. A call for proposals will be published soon."@en1
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