| The following text is a summary of Javier Solana's address to the EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Turkey and Tunisia, during the two day meeting over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I thought it would be interesting for you all to read. He gives a basic history of European peace efforts in the Middle East, and states that the EU's absolute priority is resolving the Middle East conflict. Quote: "It was our own European experience which led us to propose to you in 1995, with the Euromed Partnership, a multilateral approach. We all know that in today's world no-one can flourish alone while one's neighbours suffer setbacks, That is why our Euromed Partnership pursues the objective of a common area of peace, stability and prosperity. The European Neighbourhood Policy assists us in this effort.
Europeans and their Mediterranean partners share significant common challenges that affect their essential interests: unresolved conflicts; the rise of extremism and fundamentalism; the increasing role of non-state actors; the problems of modernization; the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the excessive role of violence and the weakening of diplomacy.
Overcoming old antagonisms and resolving current disputes, with absolute priority attached to a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict, is necessary to confront the new challenges with any chance of success.
Last year, at the Barcelona anniversary summit, we adopted the "Five Year Work Programme". Government and civil society expectations were high. Our societies are asking this from us that that we achieve and consolidate peace and that we tackle the urgent challenges we face in the area of economic and social development as well as of the environment. The scholarship programme is also something that we should bear in mind as being important.
Now, it is our responsibility to make sure that these expectations are met and that all citizens in our countries benefit from the results produced by implementing this programme. We cannot afford any more delay! It is for this reason that I congratulate the Finnish Presidency on the results of the recent ministerial specialised conferences.
The political challenges before us remain huge. Terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regionalised conflicts, organised crime: all these require a comprehensive regional approach towards their solution to be developed by reinforcing our political dialogue. In the long run, we need a Euromed Security Architecture in order to ensure that our efforts will be best coordinated and most efficient The EuroMed Security Architecture that Solana refers to, as far as I am aware, is the multilateral approach to conflict resolution on an individual and regional level, combining financial pressure and incentives, political reforms and conflict-resolution efforts in one package. According to the European Union, in regards to the conflict in the Middle East, it is "time to deliver". Revelation 10:5-6
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: Source EU-Delegations, Europa
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