Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-046"
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"en.20080409.19.3-046"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as chairwoman of the delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, I am pleased we have a debate on Lebanon on the agenda for this afternoon.
The crisis that this country has been experiencing for several months obviously goes beyond the challenges of a simple presidential election or the formation of a government. We know that it is the very foundations of the political system that are in question, based as they are on the subtle balance between the different religious faiths in the Lebanese patchwork.
What is also in question is the place Lebanon hopes to take in the regional arena. Does it want to be an aircraft carrier of the United States and their allies in the region, or the advanced post of a so-called Shi’ite crescent? I do not believe that Lebanon really has to choose between the American camp and the Syrian/Iranian camp. The only viable camp for Lebanon is the camp of Lebanon itself.
It is certainly not for the European Union to interfere in Lebanese internal affairs. Europe does not have to support one coalition over another. What the European Union can do is offer itself as a mediator, help the Lebanese parties to find a minimum of trust in each other - which is essential before any agreement can be reached - and put forward its good offices to launch a process of understanding and compromise.
We are right to support the Arab League’s plan based on a triple consensus: one president, one government of national union and the reform of the electoral law guaranteeing fair representation of all the components of Lebanese society. That is the condition
for the political secularisation that is provided for in the Taif Agreements and that a growing majority of the Lebanese people want to happen.
We must support every initiative to achieve this. In this regard, the proposal by Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, which proposes to revive national dialogue, is a positive signal. Just as we have done for many years, we must continue to support a Lebanon that wants to be sovereign, united and at peace with itself at last."@en1
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