Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-06-Speech-3-145"
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"en.20060906.21.3-145"2
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".
Mr President, the latest Middle East crisis in the summer is the first in which the European Union has become the international actor on which the greatest hopes and expectations have been placed, in particular by the Lebanese people and government but also, more widely, throughout that region.
All our efforts – the political agreement, reconstruction and support for the integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon with the presence of a strong UNIFIL – are vital for peace and stability in that country. It is also crucial that outside actors and neighbours support this. For that reason, we must be prepared to engage Syria, which can either be a constructive partner or a spoiler. That will also determine the future of the EU’s relations with Syria. In my own contacts with Syria, as in meetings with others, we have welcomed Syria’s stated intention and readiness to respect Resolution 1701 and lend support to its implementation and, moreover, also to be constructive in a comprehensive Middle East peace process.
For all of us in the Council, it has always been clear that there cannot be any sustainable stability and peace in Lebanon, or elsewhere in the region, without a return to the peace process between Israel and Palestine that is based on the roadmap and its goal of the two-state solution, with Israel living in peace and security with an independent and viable Palestinian State as its neighbour.
Unfortunately, many aspects of the roadmap have, and continue, to come under attack. Deadlock has existed since the Palestinian elections in January, which our election observers, led by your colleague, Ms De Keyser, unequivocally assessed as free and fair.
In order for the peace process to continue, it is vital that the people and constituent parties of Palestine remain committed to non-violence, the recognition of Israel and to putting a stop to all terrorist activities. We have had an uncertain situation in which the international community has had to suspend its direct assistance to the Palestinian Administration while trying to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians are met and their access to education and medical services is maintained. That has been the difficult task of the Temporary International Mechanism set up by the EU at the request of the Quartet, and it has not been made any easier by Israel’s refusal to the release tax and customs receipts now amounting to over USD 500 million that are due to the Palestinian Administration.
However, as its name suggests, the Temporary International Mechanism is only an interim device. We need to break the deadlock. We need to have all the abducted Israeli soldiers, the arrested Palestinian legislators and members of the Government, unconditionally released. We also need, above all, a broad-based Palestinian Government that is fully committed to respecting all the commitments entered into by the Palestinian Administration and which can act as a credible partner with which no one can refuse to negotiate.
We do not need to reinvent the wheel for the peace process. All the requisite elements are well known and are to be found in the roadmap and other documents. But putting these in the right order remains a challenge.
At our discussions at the Gymnich held in Lappeenranta last week we were in full agreement that the EU must now take an active role in initiating a return to the peace process. However, no matter in how united, cohesive and effective a manner the EU acts, it is obvious that we cannot achieve peace through our efforts alone. We need to work closely with all our partners in the Quartet, and in particular with the United States, as well as with the Arab league, whose renewed determination to engage in the process is to be welcomed. Above all, we need, of course, to urge the parties themselves to come to the table and seriously engage in negotiations.
For a long time people in the region have wanted nothing more than peace and security, and they have become increasingly frustrated by their leaders’ inability or even unwillingness to deliver this, thus fostering a climate which has allowed extremism to thrive. It is therefore necessary for the EU and others to entice, cajole, push and pressure the parties and to be prepared, where and when necessary, to engage on the ground as well. The EU is already doing that, with the approval of the parties, in the EU BAM Rafah mission and the EUCOPPS mission in the territories. Unfortunately, the Rafah and Karni border crossing points have effectively been closed for the past few months and Israel has not responded to our repeated approaches to have them re-opened.
In the future, we may also need to take on other new responsibilities as part of the quest for peace. The need for a new international conference on the Middle East has been put forward by many. There is much support for that idea in the Council, but there is also recognition that this is not something that can start immediately, before the parties have agreed to come to such a conference and before there is the prospect of such a conference bringing positive results that can further the peace process.
The Council will stay centrally engaged in the Middle East peace process. We have made it clear that the High Representative, Javier Solana, has the full support and mandate of the Council, working together with the Presidency and the Commission, to do what needs to be done and to meet with whomsoever is appropriate in order to get the Middle East Peace process working and keep it working until we have reached a comprehensive peace settlement.
I am pleased to say that the EU has managed to live up to those expectations and to play an important, and even leading, role in putting a stop to the hostilities, in keeping the ceasefire and in the efforts made to move forward the political process needed to consolidate the peace.
In August, the General Affairs and External Relations Council held two extraordinary meetings. In our meeting on 1 August, we managed to reach an agreement on the conclusions. This was done in a very constructive atmosphere, contrary to some totally misleading press reports. The substance of those conclusions subsequently became the basis for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 which brought a ceasefire, outlined the political agreement needed to restore the full integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon and created the new UNIFIL Mark 2 force needed to ensure implementation of the resolution.
It was not the EU’s fault that it took so long for the resolution to be passed, while every day the conflict brought more unnecessary civilian casualties, suffering and devastation without anyone coming any nearer to fulfilling either the political or military goals for which they were fighting. Indeed, the central lesson to be learned from this conflict is that there are neither military nor unilateral solutions to any of the outstanding issues and conflicts in the Middle East.
The role of the EU Member States has remained central since the adoption of Resolution 1701. At our second extraordinary Council meeting on 25 August, in which the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan also participated, we were able to ensure that UNIFIL can and will be brought up to strength and deployed as the EU Member States responded to the United Nations request by contributing up to 7000 troops. Also at that meeting it was confirmed that France, and from next February Italy, would have responsibility for leading the operation.
UNIFIL is not an EU operation and it is important that other members of the United Nations, including, in particular, many Islamic countries, are contributing to the operation. Already, the first Italian and additional French troops have been deployed.
There is a need to move troops into the area quickly in order to avoid a security vacuum while the IDF withdraws and the Lebanese armed forces gradually deploy into southern Lebanon. In order to restore peace and security, UNIFIL’s mission is to ensure the withdrawal from southern Lebanon and to help the Lebanese Government and army to extend their authority to that area and to all of Lebanon. While the Lebanese Army is to carry out the disarming of Hizbollah, UNIFIL will also have an important task in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid, monitoring the ceasefire and being ready to respond if anyone tries to break the peace.
The ceasefire has, notwithstanding some deplorable incidents, been respected. The Lebanese Government remains united and all the political parties, including Hizbollah, have pledged their support for Resolution 1701 and the political agreement it incorporates.
The role of the European Union in terms of humanitarian aid and the early recovery and reconstruction of Lebanon has been remarkable. The Donor Conference in Stockholm last week was a major success. The European Union’s humanitarian aid response has been swift and significant. The total humanitarian aid pledged or effectively granted by the European Community and Member States is approximately EUR 330 million, i.e. over a third of the total pledges made in Stockholm. We are already in a position to focus more on early recovery and strengthening local capacities."@en1
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