Mr President, Mr Yiannitsis, Mr Patten, the EU-Lebanon Association Agreement marks a step forward in our long-standing relations. It has already been pointed out several times that Lebanon is a country which has seen 16 years of civil war and which has now managed once again to turn its ethnic, cultural and religious pluralism into the basis for a peace process: it is a country both complex and important, owing to its history and geopolitical position. We hope that the closer relations which this Agreement formally marks, will help make this process irreversible and represent further progress in the respect for human rights and the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law. It is precisely for this reason that the article in the Agreement which refers to human rights must be taken seriously by the Lebanese authorities and the European institutions. Parliament is persevering on this point since the economy and trade must be able to advance at the same pace as advances in freedom, democracy, the role of women and freedom of information. We are pleased to note that Lebanon has signed the International Convention on Women’s Rights and the Convention against Torture. We hope that ratification will follow these signatures and that by continuing along this path, we will see the abolition of the death penalty, Lebanon’s participation in the International Criminal Court, the truth about missing persons and a revised legal system which specifies the limits and role of military jurisdiction. This process should be supported by the MEDA programme, with clear support for the autonomous development of civil society. Another crucial issue is an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pacification of the region, where a lasting solution can only be found by creating a Palestinian state. The Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon was an extremely important event, but peace was not a consequence. But it is precisely because peace is never automatic but requires great political will that it is important to state the desire to achieve it, starting with the countries in the region. To this end, the tension on the Lebanon-Israel border must cease, Syria should withdraw its military presence from Lebanon and the Palestinian refugees should be given prospects for the future, starting with the provision of better living conditions; I would point out that responsibility for this does not only fall to the host country, but to the whole international community. In pursuing this aim, it is therefore essential for the refugees to be able to benefit from the MEDA programme and for Europe, taking all of this into account, to be especially generous. Lastly, we hope that the Agreement will support economic reforms and trade, which were already important issues. Today’s opportunity is, however, also a chance for us to make a more general appraisal of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership – as the President-in-Office of the Council did – following completion of the enlargement process, in the context of the reform process which started with the Convention. We must now redefine the enlarged Union’s external relations and we must give Europe a more significant role in the world. The Partnership, launched in Barcelona in 1995, was created with 12 countries. We now have a broader, more systematic view of this process which encompasses the Mediterranean, the Balkans and the Gulf states. Secondly we must ask: which policies? President Prodi has often stated: ‘Everything but institutions’. The European Parliament, for its part, came out in favour some time ago of a Euro-Mediterranean Partnership which includes all the policies which we subscribed to with the candidate countries. I would therefore urge us to go further than the – albeit important – decisions of the last Interministerial Conference in Valencia. Lastly the institutions: in Valencia – as you, Mr President, pointed out – it was decided to grant the Parliamentary Forum the status of a real parliamentary assembly. This change could be truly significant, and to be a success it must take into account the remarks already made on the geopolitical dimension and policies. By becoming a true institution, the parliamentary assembly should acquire real powers concerning the decisions which this process involves and should be an active participant in the great meeting of cultures. The most important thing is for it to have instruments in order to make real progress in the field of rights, democracy and freedom.

Political group: PSE