Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-14-Speech-3-437-000"
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"en.20110914.29.3-437-000"2
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"Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Secretary-General, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the interest we have been taking in the Arab Spring, as shown by the debate we have just had on Libya and Syria, should not distract our attention away from the situation in the Middle East and, in particular, from the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
This issue can be approached from an outside perspective – any implications that the outcome of the General Assembly might have on the peace process, and any change to the status quo, count a great deal – and from the perspective of the internal dimension of the EU.
With regard to the external perspective, the peace process is in deadlock, as Mr Dowgielewicz has just told us. We are seeing increased tension in the region – the most tangible evidence of that was the attack on the Israeli embassy in Egypt – and also very particular circumstances for the United States government. President Obama is going to have difficulty meeting the proposals he set out in his inaugural speech in Cairo, because of the situation within the United States and also as a result of the electoral process he will soon have to face.
Mr President, in politics anything that is not possible is false; without wishing to prejudge the substance of the resolution that is going to be adopted, I believe that we should start getting ready to adopt a draft resolution that improves the status of Palestine within the United Nations.
This leads me on to the internal dimension of this issue: it is vital that the EU can express itself in a united voice on this sensitive point. Our past experiences in the United Nations have not been glorious. To be sure, we have shifted position in light of the new mechanisms established by the Treaty of Lisbon, and I believe that we need to focus all our efforts on three objectives: the peace process must move forward, and the status quo of a lack of negotiations must end; the chances to move forward on this issue must not be compromised or endangered; and the dignity of both parties in this conflict must be respected.
Mr President, on this point I feel that the EU’s greatest strength is its union, and its greatest weakness is its division. I would therefore ask Mr Dowgielewicz – I realise, of course, that the Commissioner and Baroness Ashton are doing all they can on the matter – to ensure that the European Union faces this sensitive issue without showing its customary division, and appears united by making a positive, active contribution to the progress that needs to be made in this conflict."@en1
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