Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-28-Speech-3-165"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20011128.9.3-165"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on 14 July this year, along with some of my colleagues from the Group of the Europe People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, I met the Egyptian Foreign Minister and representatives of the People’s Assembly of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Cairo. This meeting was arranged following the completion of our fact-finding mission, which took us from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Ramallah. Our mission enabled us to gain a much better understanding of the gravity of the situation. It also made us more aware of the way in which the European Union is acting as a mediator in the region, thanks to the unstinting efforts of Ambassador Moratinos and his team. The importance of his work cannot be stressed highly enough.
We decided to hold this meeting because we appreciate the importance of the role Egypt has played in this part of the Middle East. We recall the courageous decisions taken by President Sadat and how he paid for them with his life. At present, President Moubarak is acting with equal courage and risking his own life. Both men have worked steadfastly in helping to get the peace process moving. Sadly, the latter is, today, at a standstill. We were struck by the pertinence of how our Egyptian friends assessed the situation; and this came home to me at the time of the dreadful events of 11 September.
Three weeks ago, I was given the honour of chairing the committee drafting the final declaration of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum. This was an extraordinary session convened by the President of the European Parliament in order to tackle the new crisis and to reinvigorate the Barcelona process. It was thanks to the contribution of the Egyptian representative, amongst others, that this forum was able to adopt a statement. One of the things this document calls for is for the relaunch of the dialogue between the peoples living on both shores of the Mediterranean on our different cultures and religions. This would help us to gain a better understanding of each other. The dialogue should not be pursued merely in a spirit of tolerance. We tolerate only those things we find difficult to accept. Rather, it should take place in an atmosphere of genuine mutual respect in which we accept and benefit from our differences.
This is why I particularly welcome the excellent report by Mr Hughes Martin. It is indeed in the interest of both the European Union and of Egypt to formalise their association by signing the agreement the Council has put to us. It would be completely irresponsible for the European Parliament to delay the signing in any way.
I would like those Members who are overzealous in defending human rights to consider the impression the West, in general, and the European Union, in particular, give when they preach, sometimes opportunely and sometimes inopportunely, to their partner Arab and African countries. They should realise that they sometimes have just as much to learn about the issue as they have to teach."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples