Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-06-Speech-3-150"
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"en.20060906.21.3-150"2
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Mr President, Mr Tuomioja, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to begin with a self-criticism. Who, within this Parliament, a year ago, asked about Resolution 1552? Who, within this Parliament, asked about the disarmament of Hezbollah? We need to discuss this problem because it is currently at the heart of the debates in Israel. For three years, the Israeli Government has not said or done a thing about the disarmament of Hezbollah. We have all been blind and we ought at least to recognise that we too were mistaken. It should be noted, firstly, that we had, that the international community had, a UN resolution. Once adopted, that resolution disappeared into the nirvana of politics without ever being applied on the ground.
Secondly – and this is a real problem – that region, which is a target for all kinds of misfortune, is also a region in which the most political mistakes can be made. Mistakes are made because people think that they have to be the ambassador of Israel or of Palestine. What is the European Union's role now? Certain people within the Union are very attached to Israel – I understand that, and it is justifiable. Others are very attached to the Palestinians – I understand that, and it is justifiable. Yet, being in politics does not come down to that; on the contrary, everything must be done to ensure that there is finally a Palestinian State and an Israeli State in which people can live safely. In order to be in politics, one does not have to be a kind soul or Mother Teresa, one has to be able to succeed in making that region change politically. That is the problem.
It is for this reason that the European Union is sending troops into the region. Mr Watson is right. Some European Union Member States are sending troops.
I woke up one morning having dreamt something. During a meeting, all of the Heads of State or Government had decided that the European contingent would be the largest in number, that it would be the Europeans’ rapid reaction force, that it would no longer be three quarters French, two thirds Italian or a quarter German, but that it would consist of Europeans who, as such, were going to represent Europe in that region. I know that that is a dream, I know that I am being childish, but why not dream such things?
Insofar as we are bound to fulfil our obligations, Mr Fischer recently wrote in an article, ‘Welcome to the real world’: Yes, we are living in the real world; from now on, we have to act politically in that region. Well, the reality is that the Americans present in the region are in Iraq, where they are stuck; they have no political presence. No organisation, apart from the European Union, has the ability to change things and to work alongside the Israelis in examining how the Palestinian issue should be negotiated. Peace will only reign in Israel if there is a Palestinian State that is fit to live in. The best way in which to combat Hamas is to do so by means of the Palestinian State, because Hamas does not give a damn about the Palestinian State. It wants an Islamic area! That is why it is important to stress, firstly, that, if we establish a Palestinian State, then we will weaken Hamas’ influence.
Secondly, we need to settle the problem concerning the borders with Syria and the Golan. Israel must be guaranteed a water supply and it must be guaranteed protection, but protection that does not mean Israel’s occupying the Golan. The European Union must use its influence in order to get negotiations under way. At a time when the European Union is now managing to play a major political role, we will be responsible not only for hardship and failure, but also, in political terms, for a region in which peace is prevailing.
When our children ask us what purpose Europe serves, we will be able to proudly reply: ‘Look at what we are doing in the Middle East’. To do that, however, we need to achieve that objective. We must have the courage to say to all of these governments that it is not Italy – even though Italy has been admirable – that it is not France, and that it is not the United Kingdom, but that it is Europe as a whole that has been effective.
To conclude, I should like to draw your attention to a debate concerning Germany. I have had enough of these political groups! Mr Watson, as a member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, is telling the German ALDE members that it is outrageous that they are rejecting the sending of the task force to the Middle East. And you, Mr Wurtz, are telling the German Communists that what they are in the process of doing is outrageous, that it is a bartering style of politics, when human beings are dying in the Middle East and when the whole world wants to establish this task force. Have courage as politicians and take action within your political camps!"@en1
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