Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-19-Speech-4-008"
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"en.20060119.3.4-008"2
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".
Mr President, it is a great honour to address you today on the Middle East peace process. It is particularly timely, since I have just returned from a visit to Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.
I inaugurated some public works programmes and also announced the launch of four new energy and environment infrastructure projects in Gaza worth EUR 20 million. We are working with all possible speed, but the security situation is not making our work any easier.
Yet revitalising Gaza’s economy is essential. What I saw only strengthened my conviction on that, and I will continue to press this point in the Quartet – there will be a Quartet meeting on 30 January in London, after the Afghanistan conference – and with Israel. We must continue to improve free movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza. So, I have relaunched the procurement process for a EUR 25 million cargo terminal at the airport. We visited the airport, and we know how important it is to open it up, not only to the region, but also to the world, to help facilitate Palestinian trade once it has been reopened. We will only be able to go ahead with the project once there is an agreement between both sides. We therefore strongly support Jim Wolfensohn with the whole scope of the project that he has outlined since the opening of the Rafah crossing.
We will not be able to step up travel in and out of Gaza without properly managed borders. I visited the Rafah border crossing and I must say that General Pistolesi and his team at the EU Border Assistance Mission are doing an excellent job. I was moved to see that Europeans are helping ordinary Palestinians to move across the border with Egypt for the first time in many years; this maintains the great dignity of the Palestinian people. They are very happy. I spoke to two women who expressed the hope that things might slowly get better. Therefore, we will provide a further EUR 3 million package of support for the Rafah border crossing. We are carrying out customs duties there, so it will provide scanning equipment as well as training for the Palestinians.
I made it clear to both my Israeli and Palestinian counterparts and interlocutors that the European Union is contributing substantially to creating the conditions for a two-State solution. Like everyone involved, we face major challenges, but we are in it for the long haul. We want to make a long term commitment. I clearly reiterated that. We have been a consistent and reliable partner for both sides. But to make progress, both sides must move.
Israel should take steps to implement the agreement brokered in November by the Quartet Special Envoy Jim Wolfensohn on improving movement and access – the port, the airport, the link between Gaza and the West Bank and movement within the West Bank. And the Palestinian Authority must take charge of law and order and public finances. It must take serious steps to relaunch its reform programme and respect its commitments under the Interim Association Agreement and the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan.
At this critical juncture, our message is very clear: there is a need for negotiations; all action threatening a two-State solution must cease; and imposing law and order and fighting terrorism are important.
I had three objectives for this trip: first, to lend support to democracy-building in the run-up to the Palestinian elections. There is an important Election Observation Mission there with your colleague, Mrs De Keyser; secondly, to underline the importance of European Union financial support to the Palestinian people, and, thirdly, to thus raise the visibility of a number of EU projects, notably in Gaza.
I spent a whole day in Gaza. The security situation there is very complicated, it was not easy to go in but in the end it was a good day and I hope that the images brought to the Palestinian people show how much we, the European Union, are standing by them.
It is a critical moment in the Middle East. In both Israel and the Palestinian territories, there have been tremendous changes in the political landscape. I hope that these elections will bring about two leaderships that are ready and able to inject new vigour into this peace process.
I made it clear to both Israelis and Palestinians that the Commission will continue to offer its support to all those who seek peace by peaceful means. That means in particular that whatever the composition of the new Palestinian Government, there must be full respect for the principles enshrined in the Interim Association Agreement and in the Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan that we agreed with the Palestinian Authority. These principles include respect for human rights and the rule of law, and thus a clear commitment to the roadmap.
The Palestinian Authority has given the international community assurances that the elections will take place free from violence and intimidation and according to international standards; we can only hope that this will come true. President Abbas has also made it clear that acceptance of the Oslo Accords and the roadmap forms the basis for participation in the future government. I think it was important that he gave such a clear message.
Acting Prime Minister Olmert, whom I also saw, assured me that Israel would facilitate the holding of these elections. His government took a difficult decision, in the context of an Israeli pre-election campaign, to allow voting in East Jerusalem. I welcomed that decision and I hope that this constructive spirit will help resolve any other remaining logistical and practical aspects of the elections. Within the security constraints, it will be very important that Israel does all it can to allow free movement for voters and candidates in the Palestinian territories up to and including polling day.
The European Union is supporting the Palestinian elections with the biggest Election Observation Mission – 240 observers, including 50 of your colleagues. I visited the Observation Team led by Mrs de Keyser, and was most impressed by her dedication and professionalism and that of her team. I was also impressed to meet the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Dr Hanna Nasir. Thanks to the sustained support of the European Union – with which the Commission has been involved since 2003 – the CEC has established itself as one of the most credible and respected institutions in the Palestinian territories. During my visit, I announced another EUR 1.4 million to help with voter registration and polling activities, which brings our support for the election process to EUR 18.5 million, which is a large amount of money to try to make these elections free and fair.
One of the purposes of my visit to Gaza was to raise the profile of the important work we are doing, providing urgent assistance to make Palestinians’ ordinary lives more bearable. We are improving the health system, building schools and repairing roads, making improvements as regards solid waste, sewage waste and electricity grids. Much of that will be to the benefit of the Palestinian people and I hope they understand that it comes from the European Union."@en1
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