Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-11-Speech-3-303"
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"en.20070711.28.3-303"2
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"Mr President, since the last debate in this House, the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has profoundly changed.
There are several developments that we should welcome. Israel has finally resumed the transfer of tax and customs revenue, the European Union has decided to normalise its relations with the Palestinian Authority and there is now a new Palestinian Government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. After a three-month interruption, the bilateral meetings between Abbas and Olmert have resumed. Finally, like many others, I was delighted to hear that the BBC correspondent Alan Johnston had been released after more than three months in captivity.
On the other hand, after the Gaza takeover by Hamas, there is now a high risk of separation between parts of the Palestinian Territory. The people of Gaza are being isolated from the world, and the tensions between the Palestinian factions have never been so high. The creation of a viable Palestinian State is, at least, at risk.
We must continue to work on the development of a political perspective in order to provide peace and prosperity for the region. I hope that the upcoming bilateral meeting between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, which, it is to be hoped, will take place on 16 July, will help to frame a credible political perspective for the Palestinian people and that it will pave the way for their joint meeting with the Quartet later on.
I hope that the Quartet can continue its cooperation with the Arab partners, and I look forward to the upcoming meeting of the Quartet, which will most probably take place next week, when all these issues can be discussed. I welcome the appointment of Tony Blair as Quartet envoy, which will certainly further dynamise our role in the Middle East peace process. He can become a new vector of progress along with the Arab Peace Initiative. I will, of course, provide him with every possible assistance, as we did for Jim Wolfensohn, including the staff for his team in Jerusalem.
With regard to assistance, the Commission has been quick in reacting to the new situation. I received a letter from Prime Minister Fayyad, which describes his priority needs. We are ready and are, of course, already mobilising our assistance to provide support to the new Government. The Quartet and the General Affairs and Foreign Affairs Councils have endorsed the extension of the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) until the end of September. In order to fund TIM operations in the third quarter, we have sent a request to the budgetary authority for a transfer of EUR 80 million. I am delighted, and I thank you that the Committee on Budgets has this week agreed to this transfer. We are now able to provide support, through the TIM, until the end of its extension. Direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is already being prepared in the form of a scheme to reimburse private sector arrears, as Salam Fayyad has asked us to do. This would have a doubly beneficial effect on the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority and of the Palestinian private sector. We are identifying some funds for this.
The Commission has resumed its long-standing efforts to build the institutions of the future Palestinian State. We are also providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance. A project to assist the Ministry of Finance in the area of internal control and audit has just been launched, and we will launch two more shortly. One is the management of customs, and the other the management of tax revenue.
Finally, a few words on Gaza. We will not, of course, abandon the people of Gaza or the goal of a viable Palestinian State. We are providing humanitarian and emergency assistance to the people of Gaza, and ECHO partners are working on the ground. The TIM is delivering social allowances and fuel. However, the situation may deteriorate further because access to the Gaza Strip is still a problem. Therefore, we have to work even more with the Egyptians and the Israelis in order to open the Rafah and Karni border crossings. Their continued closure impedes the effective passage of humanitarian personnel and goods and it is to be hoped that this will not have devastating consequences for the economy of the Strip.
Finally, border crossings have to be open both for humanitarian access and commerce. If the economy collapses, there will be serious implications for the security of the whole region, for the future of the Palestinian State and, indeed, for the Commission budget. We should not let the population of Gaza become 100% dependent on external aid."@en1
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