Mr President, the Confederal Group of the are extremely concerned at the stagnation of the Mediterranean partnership and we see can no justification for the Commission and the Council’s reluctance to reopen the debate. And yet two of the fundamental causes of the breakdown in the debate have now been eliminated: a new Commission is installed in Brussels which numbers the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean area of peace and stability among one of its priorities, and peace negotiations between Israel, Palestine, Syria and the Lebanon are once again in progress. It is time for Europe to send a political signal to reopen negotiations with non-member countries of the Mediterranean, and this is why we welcome the idea from the future French presidency of the Council of organising another Euro-Mediterranean Conference. However, the agenda must tackle the central issues and not skirt around them, as it currently threatens to do. We are also concerned at the total lack of interest shown by the Commission in reopening the debate. And yet much remains to be done in order to relaunch the three cooperation chapters decided upon in Barcelona. A large workshop needs to be opened on promoting the protection of human rights in the area of justice, in a framework of mutual respect, for we cannot make concessions for anybody on human rights issues, not even civil Europe. For a long time now, Parliament has been proposing to create a Euro-Mediterranean Court of Human Rights modelled on the Court in Strasbourg, and also to set up mutual consultation mechanisms to facilitate applications for peaceful solutions to conflicts and the fight against organised crime. Political dialogue must be structured and take the form of regular consultations. To this end, we propose that Summits of the Heads of State and Government of the Mediterranean countries of the European Union should be held regularly, and that the role of the special envoy for the Middle East should be consolidated, so that we do not relinquish the political role we desire to the United States. There is now no reason to exclude Libya from the debate, and it should therefore take part in the next Euro-Mediterranean Conference. With regard to economic and financial cooperation, the Commission has the duty to relaunch negotiations for the signing of trade contracts which are socially sustainable. This is extremely important, for the mutual benefits are very great. At the same time, however, I would stress that the bilateral approach hitherto adopted by the Commission does not seem adequate to meet the numerous challenges presented by the Mediterranean. Economic cooperation must include multilateral/bilateral approaches facilitating the promotion of trade among Mediterranean countries and south-south trade. This multilateral approach must also be mirrored in the fields of cultural and social cooperation. The promotion of a culture of diversity, of individual freedoms applicable to all members of a multi-cultural society, of peaceful coexistence and of dialogue across religious divides with respect for universal human rights, and the affirmation of women’s rights and freedom, hinges on multilateral cooperation programmes, which must include a number of countries. In this sense, it is essential, in addition to being the Union’s responsibility, to support democratic organisations from the civil society of Mediterranean countries and parliamentary dialogue modelled on the Euro-Mediterranean Forum. Mr President, Commissioner, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, the need to create a Euro-Mediterranean area of peace, economic justice, citizenship and stability is common to both sides of the Mediterranean. It is a major challenge, a foreign policy which the Community institutions must undertake to pursue in order to provide the Union with a political and cultural project which will bring about peaceful coexistence and growth in the face of different territorial and cultural conditions, and, putting aside the myths and legends of days gone by, make the Mediterranean a genuinely peaceful area, and not one of conflict or of abuse of power or where impoverished immigrants lose their lives attempting to reach Europe.

Political group: GUE-NGL