PES calls on EU foreign ministers to back Middle East peace talks
13 February 2007The Party of European Socialists calls on EU Foreign Ministers meeting today in Brussels to do all they can to encourage the start of new peace talks in the Middle East following the agreement of Fatah and Hamas in Mecca to form a new government of national unity.
"The Mecca agreement must be given a chance to succeed" said Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the PES. "We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. Too many lives have been lost, too many opportunities for peace have been wasted. The EU must insist that to reject this agreement is unacceptable. This new agreement cannot not be dismissed prematurely."
He added "The international community must take every opportunity to achieve peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. We cannot accept any excuses. We must insist on a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue. We call for real progress now from both the Palestinians and the Israelis. At the same time the EU has a responsibility to promote peace to the Quartet and through direct contact with the two sides in this conflict."
Socialist, Social Democratic and Labour Foreign Ministers meet regularly under the auspices of the PES to discuss the situation in the Middle East. In December the PES adopted a resolution on the Middle East at its Congress in Porto setting up a High Level Group to monitor the situation in the region. The PES will organize a Euromed Conference in Amman in spring 2007 followed by a High Level Delegation in the Middle East.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Julian Scola, Press Officer, Party of European Socialists, Rue du Trône, 98, B-1050 Brussels
Mobile +32 486 117 394,
