Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-13-Speech-2-196"
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"en.20040113.8.2-196"2
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"Madam President, last Sunday I returned from Iran following a political visit by Irish Members of Parliament to that country. During that visit we met the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr Kharrazi, and other members of the government and parliament to discuss broader EU-Iranian relations at this time.
The Iranian Government and Iranian Parliament have expressed their gratitude to the EU and to the broader international community for the assistance they have been given to help in the reconstruction of Bam and to help the thousands of displaced persons in this region. Basically, the tragedy in Bam was totally horrific, with tens of thousands of people dead and the infrastructure of this very historical city destroyed.
The bottom line with regard to the reconstruction of Iran from an EU perspective is the following: it is going to take months and years to reconstruct the city and help to rebuild the lives of thousands of people which have simply been destroyed by this horrific earthquake. I strongly urge EU governments and the European Commission to make available long-term financial assistance to help the Iranian Government with these difficult regeneration tasks.
The European Union has committed over EUR 200 million in recent years to help rebuild Afghanistan, and the European Union must take the decision financially to support the Iranian Government for a number of years so as to ensure that the basic social infrastructural and educational needs are addressed in the reconstruction process of Bam. Short-term financial assistance simply is not enough. Longer-term financial assistance is required, and EU governments must take the political decisions to make these broader financial commitments available to the Iranian Government.
On a separate matter, I believe that political dialogue should recommence between the European Union and the Iranian Government. We are all aware of the difficulties that the international community has had with the Iranian Government concerning its compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, the Iranian Government has signed protocols to this treaty, measures which we welcome. Negotiations should restart between the Union and the Iranian Government in the context of a trade and cooperation agreement between us, and a structured political dialogue between our respective partners should also be set up.
In building close relations between the Union and Iran – which has a population of over 70 million people – it is best to build on the basis of dialogue and consultation rather than on the basis of political assumption, political prejudice and political coercion.
Finally, I totally support paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the resolution. It has come as a horrible shock to learn of the decision to prevent people from standing for election. We cannot accept that. I am sure that Ayatollah Khamenei will reverse the decision – as it should be – in favour of those who are trying to bring peace and reform to Iran."@en1
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