Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-15-Speech-2-178"
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"en.20091215.14.2-178"2
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"Mr President, the conflict in the Middle East was one of the issues we discussed here in Parliament right at the beginning of the Swedish Presidency. It feels good to be able to come back and report to you like this at the end of our term of office.
Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, was also in the Committee on Foreign Affairs last week, where he presented a report and held long discussions, including on the Middle East. Last week, the Foreign Affairs Council discussed the situation in the Middle East and adopted conclusions. We are pleased that all 27 Member States support these conclusions, which clearly indicate the EU’s views on the peace process in the Middle East.
With these conclusions, the Council and the Presidency want to send a very clear and strong message from Europe that we hope may result in the negotiations between the parties being resumed soon. We are concerned about the lack of progress in the peace process in the Middle East. We have therefore made clear our support for the efforts by the United States to achieve peace. The EU is calling on the parties to accept responsibility and begin negotiations on all final status issues, including Jerusalem, borders, refugees and security. Our conclusions also reflect the EU’s position on the Middle East, based on international law, that we have held for a long time and that we have expressed on many occasions.
The EU’s position is, among other things, that an agreed two-state solution must be based on the 1967 borders and that the settlements are illegal. Jerusalem is a final status issue and we have made it clear that, if genuine peace is to be achieved, Jerusalem’s status as the future capital of two states must be settled through negotiations. Resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations was linked to the settlement issue for a large part of the year. Recently, the Israeli Government announced a partial and temporary settlement freeze. The Foreign Affairs Council welcomes this decision and we hope that it will contribute to a resumption of meaningful negotiations.
However, we note with concern the surprising decision by the Israeli Government on 13 December to make the settlements part of the National Priority Areas programme for the first time. This goes against the spirit of the settlement freeze and damages the efforts to create an atmosphere that can help to bring about a long-term resolution of the conflict. My colleague, the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, visited the Committee on Development in the European Parliament at the beginning of September. She promised to follow developments locally, to provide assistance and to intervene in the areas that we are all aware of – the situation in and around East Jerusalem, the settlements and issues such as access and movement, particularly with regard to Gaza. We have fulfilled this promise.
Over recent months, under the leadership of the Presidency, the EU has adopted a clear position with regard to the settlements and the continued closure of Gaza. The policy of closure is unacceptable and counterproductive. The EU is continuing to demand that the border crossings be opened immediately and unconditionally for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons. The Council has also called for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860 and for international humanitarian law to be respected. Those holding the abducted Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, must release him immediately.
I would like to say a few more words about Gaza. Of course, we hope that the mediation efforts by Egypt and the Arab League can continue. It is important to prevent a permanent division between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, on the one hand, and Gaza, on the other. We look forward to free and fair elections when conditions permit. One thing is clear – peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be achieved if the Palestinians are united.
Our diplomats in the region have followed the situation in East Jerusalem closely. In their view, Israel is weakening the Palestinian community in the city. This causes us concern. The EU will increase its assistance to East Jerusalem to ease the living conditions of the Palestinians. The strong message concerning East Jerusalem in the Council’s conclusions is clear evidence of our concern for the situation. It is important to remember that settlements between Israel and Syria and between Israel and Lebanon are prerequisites for there to be peace in the Middle East. The EU welcomes the recent statements by Israel and Syria confirming their willingness to advance the peace process. It goes without saying that this would have extremely positive repercussions in the whole region."@en1
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