Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-044"
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"en.20031119.2.3-044"2
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".
Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, today is a good opportunity to talk about the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, better known as the Barcelona Process – a few days before the Mediterranean conference of foreign ministers in Naples. Through its opinions and resolutions adopted ahead of foreign ministers’ conferences, Parliament has made important contributions to the development of this Partnership. It was the driving force in fostering cooperation between the parliaments of the Euro-Mediterranean area.
The Commission welcomes the fact that the working party has now reached agreement on a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and the Commission looks forward to welcoming it in Naples as an advisory body and as one of the institutions of the Barcelona Process. What role is it to play? It is the view of the Commission that the Assembly will effectively promote respect for human rights and democratisation in the region. The communication which the Commission published on this subject in May was welcomed by Parliament and the Council. We will now be discussing with our Mediterranean partners the action plans that will be implemented with MEDA Programme funding to bring about concrete improvements in human rights and democracy in all partner countries.
The Euro-Mediterranean area is one of the regions of the world that are probably the most seriously affected by the risks of the twenty-first century, be it terrorism, trafficking in human beings, drugs, the problems of globalisation or environmental hazards. It is important for Europe to show solidarity with its neighbouring region in this situation. Solidarity by helping our partners to face these challenges in a way that is compatible with respect for human rights and democratic principles. But we cannot achieve more than our partners themselves want. That is why political reforms must be an essential part of the plan. The new
new neighbourhood strategy that will be debated in this House this afternoon sets out very precisely what we can do to get greater progress in political and economic reform in the region. I do not want to say anything about that now, as there will be ample opportunity this afternoon. I would like to point out that we have made progress on a number of fronts, which will be evaluated in Naples, and on which further progress will have to be built. I would also like to point out that North-South integration alone is not enough. We must also continue to support integration between our partners. Here, too, there has been progress in some areas but I am sure we should encourage them to further efforts.
Let me say in conclusion that intercultural dialogue must play a special part in our entire concept. The importance of intercultural dialogue was recognised very early in the Barcelona Process and it has found expression in joint programmes to assist the development of cultural heritage, audio-visual co-productions and youth exchanges. In the run-up to the Valencia conference of foreign ministers, the Commission put forward the proposal, which was finally approved, to complement these programmes with an independent Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures and Civilisations. I am very pleased that we are close to agreement and I hope that agreement can also be reached at the Naples conference on the location of the Foundation. All the candidates, Rome, Valetta and Alexandria, have points in their favour and I do not want to express an opinion on them here, only to point out that it is important that the Foundation should be able to begin work by the middle of next year. It will make an important contribution to raising the profile of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and increasing its visibility and importance for the population."@en1
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"Wider Europe,"1
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