Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-06-Speech-3-202"
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"en.20060906.21.3-202"2
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"Mr President, it is a time of crisis in the Middle East but also perhaps a time of opportunity. Europe faces three connected challenges in this regard. First, the UNIFIL peace-keeping/peace enforcement mission in Lebanon.
UN forces led by the EU must ensure that United Nations Resolution 1701 is enforced and that, through cooperation with Lebanese troops and political leaders, Hizbollah can be disarmed. UNIFIL II must also ensure that further arms are not smuggled into Lebanon to rearm any groups and that Lebanon’s sovereignty is respected at all times. UNIFIL II must be successful. A lot is riding on that and failure would have disastrous consequences for the region as a whole and for Europe.
On the issue of committing troops to UNIFIL II, some EU countries have been generous to date. However, most commitment has come from larger EU nations and I hope we will see future commitments from smaller countries, particularly those who have significant experience of peace-keeping in Lebanon in the past. In that context, I continue to call on my own government in Ireland to at least make an offer of troops, even if the numbers are small, because I believe they have a positive role to play.
The second challenge is to help rebuild Lebanon after the devastation of the summer. The EU is already responding in this regard, but we should realise that we have an opportunity here, that in rebuilding Lebanon’s infrastructure we can also build the EU’s reputation in the region as a whole, as well as in the minds of the Lebanese people.
The third challenge is the wider political challenge of the need to provide stability in the Middle East generally. In order to do this, we must grasp the difficult nettle of forging a way forward in the Israel-Palestinian problem. The wider political roadmap is still there on paper and so we do not need to reinvent the wheel here. However, we need to play our part in finding ways to create fresh enthusiasm and acceptance for the roadmap as the way forward and, in this regard, the difficult task of engaging with Syria will be necessary."@en1
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