Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-169"
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"en.20030115.10.3-169"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, any debate on Lebanon refers us directly to discussions on the Middle East, both about issues relating to Israel and about discussions on Iraq over the last 24 hours.
The situation in Lebanon is still extremely complicated, mainly because so many different communities live there, meaning that problems require a multiethnic, multilingual, multi-religious approach, not forgetting that Lebanon offers shelter to a great many – about 370 000 – Palestinian refugees. These communities are represented at institutional level. The application of the arrangements in the Charter of National Reconciliation of 22 October 1989 allowing Syrian forces to be stationed in certain areas of Lebanon, basically comes within the framework of relations between Lebanon and Syria. The Council is closely monitoring internal political dialogue in Lebanon. The first step was the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, followed by a partial withdrawal of the Lebanese-Syrian army in June 2001. At the same time, there is a risk that the presence of Hezbollah forces in the south of the country will become a destabilising factor in Israeli-Lebanese relations. The free parliamentary elections held on 3 September 2000 indicate that things are moving in the right direction, towards the normalisation of the situation in Lebanon, and we must not therefore underestimate the destabilising effect on Lebanon of the conflict in the Middle East.
The Council has stated on several occasions that the fight against terrorism is a priority and the recent terrorist attack in Bali highlighted once again the need for close international cooperation on the fight against terrorism. Implementation of the action plan adopted by the European Council in September 2001 is progressing well. As far as its foreign dimension is concerned, the Council has decided to include the fight against terrorism in the agreement between the European Union and third countries. The fact that Lebanon was one of the first countries that agreed to sign the agreement with the European Union on this issue demonstrates that it is prepared to cooperate actively with the European Union, including in the field of information exchanges. The link between the Cooperation Agreement and the Association Agreement with regard to the fight against terrorism is emphasised by the fact that both agreements were signed on the same day, in Luxembourg on 17 June 2002 to be precise, and will enter into force simultaneously – and soon I hope.
As far as respect for human rights is concerned, the Council is monitoring this issue closely. The Council expressed its concern about action by the Lebanese army against Christian activists in August 2001 and about the closure of the independent television station ΜΤF last September. The Association Agreement will also strengthen the potential for monitoring this issue and will encourage the authorities in Lebanon to have greater respect for human rights. As you know, the agreement requires respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms to be a basic element in both sides’ domestic and foreign policy. In addition, regular political dialogue will be established at various levels, mainly in the Association Agreement, on all matters of interest.
I should like, if I may, to make a number of comments on the Association Agreement, to which the European Parliament is being invited to give its assent. The signing of the Association Agreement is an important development and marks the start of a new chapter in our relations with Lebanon. Although it refers mainly to intergovernmental relations, the agreement also offers an operational framework for the business community and civil society. This agreement is vital to the European Union’s entire Mediterranean policy and is yet another step towards the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone. I should point out that Lebanon has just ratified both the Association Agreement and the Interim Agreement which comes into force on 1 March 2003. Good communications channels between politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean are an important factor in building constructive relations between the ΕU and its Mediterranean partners. At bilateral level, the Association Agreement makes provision for an EU-Lebanon Association Council, to facilitate cooperation and contacts between the European Parliament and parliamentary institutions in Lebanon. The Members of Parliament involved will have to set the framework for this dialogue which, as far as the Council is concerned, will supplement Euro-Mediterranean dialogue in general.
I welcome the results of the last meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum in Bari in June 2002, which highlighted the parliamentary dimension of our cooperation with the countries of the Mediterranean.
We are currently examining cooperation mechanisms in order to create a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. The European Parliament has started working on just such an assembly, which will include members of the 27 national parliaments and the European Parliament. The Euro-Mediterranean summit in Valencia proposed strengthening the parliamentary dimension of Euro-Mediterranean dialogue by creating a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.
I welcome the recent meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum in Bari on 17-18 June 2002, which supported the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and decided to form a working party to set up this new assembly. For their part, the senior officials responsible for the Barcelona process also agreed to set up a group to coordinate with the Bari working party.
One of the objectives of the Greek Presidency is to use the dynamics of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in order to strengthen its parliamentary dimension. One of our presidency’s priorities is to achieve new levels of integration and boost the credibility of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, which is why we are currently examining the cooperation mechanisms and measures needed in order to create this assembly. What we want, not to say need, is for the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum to decide at its next meeting in Crete on 27 March 2003 to evolve into a parliamentary assembly. If it does, the summit of Foreign Ministers meeting in Crete on 26 and 27 May 2003 would be able to welcome their decision and this new institution could be set up."@en1
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