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Regarding the Middle East, Hans-Gert Poettering (picture) called for a lasting solution for the conflict based on "respect for human life, the achievement of security through reconciliation, and compliance with international law".
Photo: European Parliament
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ATHENS (EJP)---The head of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, was elected the new president of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) during its annual plenary meeting in Athens on Friday.
Poettering, a German Christian-Democrat, takes over the presidency for a period of one year on behalf of the European Parliament until March 2009.
With Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU in 2007, the Assembly has expanded from 240 Members to 260 in total. 130 MPs now represent the European Union (49 MEPs and 81 MPs appointed by the parliaments of the 27 EU Member States) and 130 represent the national parliaments of the non-EU Mediterranean partners: Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
In his address, Poettering said the political priorities of his mandate will be the peace process in the Middle East and intercultural dialogue.
Regarding the Middle East he called for a lasting solution for the conflict based on "respect for human life, the achievement of security through reconciliation, and compliance with international law".
He recalled the initiatives that have taken place in the European Parliament, including the solemn sessions with relevant personalities, his official visits to Arab countries and Israel, and the setting up of a Working Group on the Middle East.
He also suggested that an extraordinary plenary meeting of the Assembly could take place in the Middle East region in the autumn. It would be devoted to the peace process as well as to concrete regional cross-border cooperation on concrete issues like water and energy.
Union for the Mediterranean
Earlier this month, European Union leaders backed a French plan to forge closer political ties with Europe's North African and Mideast neighbors along the Mediterranean Sea, called "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean."
The project foresees the involvement of 39 partners, the 27-nation EU in addition to a dozen Mediterranean countries - from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Syria and Turkey.
France is scheduled to hold a summit on the issue in July when it takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency.
The original EU’s "Euromed" programme, was launched in 1995 in Barcelona to foster economic, political and social reforms in the Middle East and North Africa. It aimed at creating a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010 but progress has been slow due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the refusal of many Arab states to abide by international human rights standards.
"I think it is undeniable that the major single issue that has held us back is the enduring Middle East conflict," Jose-Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said.
"We need to move from intentions to deliver, we need a Euro-Med of results," he added.
Barroso said the region is faced with "major challenges in achieving peace, security and prosperity."
