External Relations and ENP Commissioner briefs MEPs

Progress was made at the ministerial meeting held in Marseille on the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) institutional structure, the 2009 work programme and the political declaration, EU Commissioner for External Relations and the ENP, Benita Ferrero-Waldner told the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee. She recalled that after the Paris Summit in July, official meetings stalled as a result of differences between the Arab group and Israel on the question of Arab League participation, ”a further reminder, were any needed, of the urgency of making progress on the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP).”

The Commission, she noted, “provided much of the substance in particular with regard to the proposals for the institutional set up of the process and, you will be pleased to hear, argued strongly for your idea of a strong parliamentary dimension for the UPM through the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. Those like me who have followed every single Ministerial of EuroMed for the last 13 years are particularly satisfied with the language on MEPP, a real improvement compared to the one in the Paris declaration. I hope this is a good basis on which we will be able to build on at the forthcoming meeting of the Quartet in Sharm el Sheik that I am planning to attend. It will be a historic occasion, the first meeting with the parties, in the region, an occasion where I hope the EU can play an important political role.”

The Commissioner said “the Middle East should be our top priority. We must seek US engagement right from the start of the next President’s mandate...”

Speech

Javier Solana – Remarks

EuroMed Info Centre email alert – Foreign Ministers meeting (5 November)

EuroMed Info Centre – UfM

Contact information	n/a
News type	Inbrief
File link	http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/08/586&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Source of information	EuroMed Info Centre
Keyword(s)	Mediterranean-Union, Union for the Mediterranean, Union-for-the-Mediterranean
Subject(s)	POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Relation	http://www.emwis.org/initiatives/mediterranean-union
Geographical coverage	Euromed
News date	12/11/2008
Working language(s)	ENGLISH

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