European Parliament resolution on EU Mediterranean policy in the run-up to the fourth meeting of Euro-Mediterranean Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Marseilles
Date: 2000-11-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU programme, Mediterranean region (EU), Union for the Mediterranean, cooperation policy, free-trade area, political cooperation, summit meeting

8.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 223/147

Wednesday 15 November 2000

TEXTS ADOPTED

1. Euro-Mediterranean conference in Marseilles

B5-0845/2000

European Parliament resolution on EU Mediterranean policy in the run-up to the fourth meeting
of Euro-Mediterranean Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Marseilles

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to its previous resolutions, and in particular those of 30 March 2000 on Mediterranean

policy (1) and 5 October 2000 on the situation in the Middle East (2),

(cid:1) having regard to the Oral Questions of 14 November 2000 submitted by the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (B5-0551/2000 and B5-0552/2000),

(cid:1) having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-

ment on ‘reinvigorating the Barcelona process’ (COM(2000) 497),

A. mindful of the common strategy of the European Union on the Mediterranean region decided upon by

the Feira European Council on 19 June 2000,

Asks the Council and Commission whether they consider the conditions for reviving the Barcelona

1.
process as set out in the documents they adopted recently to be adequate;

2.
Calls on the Council and Commission to make the negotiating mandate more flexible with a view to
facilitating the completion of the negotiations under way on the conclusion of bilateral association agree-
ments, and to aim for ambitious cooperation in all areas, including agriculture, taking greater account of
the needs expressed by the people of the Mediterranean countries and respecting their fundamental rights;

3.
Reiterates its request that joint deliberations be initiated with a view to coordinating Mediterranean
agricultural policies, bearing in mind the reform of the CAP and the multifunctional nature of the agricul-
tural sector;

4.
Calls on the Council and Commission to pave the way for the establishment of a genuine multilateral
free-trade area at Euro-Mediterranean level and to indicate what means are required in order to encourage
stronger trade and cooperation links between the partner countries, above all as regards investment in
projects of regional or subregional interest;

5.
Reiterates its request to the Council and Commission to allocate funding for EU Mediterranean policy
which is such as to restore the balance in the funds earmarked for all geographical areas, as decided by the
Cannes European Council, and to ensure that the principles of clarity, transparency and effectiveness gov-
ern the allocation of this funding, especially the allocation of MEDA appropriations, payment of which
should be speeded up;

6.
Calls on the Commission to draw up an assessment of the economic, social, environmental and
political repercussions of the implementation of association agreements between the European Union and
the Mediterranean countries;

7.
Reiterates its request to the Council and Commission to boost political, economic and financial sup-
port for the integration of subregional areas by means of subregional association agreements and to ensure
that funding provided by the regional programmes introduced as part of the Euro-Mediterranean partner-
ship is more substantial than that currently made available by the MEDA programme, provided that the
available funds are used more efficiently;

(1)
(2)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 4.
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 9.

C 223/148

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.8.2001

Wednesday 15 November 2000

8.
Stresses the importance of the human rights clause in Euro-Mediterranean agreements and urges the
Commission to assume its responsibility in requiring compliance with the clause and raising the issue of
respect for human rights in both multilateral and bilateral talks and also to give priority to projects aiming
to promote human rights, with particular emphasis on women’s rights, and to initiatives supporting the
moratorium on capital punishment;

9.
Calls on the Council and Commission to give an effective and lasting new impetus to decentralised
cooperation, set out alternative means of fostering dialogue between civil societies and put forward within
a reasonable period clear and transparent solutions for replacing the MED programmes currently on hold;

10.
Calls on the Council and Commission to launch a wide-ranging debate involving the public autho-
rities of the fifteen Member States, the European Parliament and, if need be, representative associations,
with a view to pinpointing the means and legal instruments required to guarantee dignified and fair treat-
ment for legal migrants and combating racism and xenophobia in European countries more forcefully, in
line with a harmonised European immigration policy;

11.
Asks the Council and Commission to ensure that the issue of immigration and all its related secur-
ity, socioeconomic and cultural aspects be dealt with by the Euro-Mediterranean partnership; in this regard,
asks that thought be given to setting up a centre to monitor migratory flows in the Mediterranean;

12.
Calls on the Council and Commission to look into the various options for addressing the debt issue,
which is hampering development efforts in the Mediterranean partner countries, and above all to explore
the possibilities of converting the debt owed to the Community and/or the Member States into funding, in
local currency, for civil cooperation projects geared towards civil society, environmental protection and
youth training and employment;

13.
Calls on the Council and Commission to take the initiative in establishing coordination amongst all
potential international and regional aid donors (cid:1) governments and financial institutions, especially from
the Gulf States (cid:1) in order to launch a concerted programme aimed at galvanising investment in the Med-
iterranean region and in promoting private investment, which plays an essential part in the success of the
partnership;

Calls on the Council and Commission to improve coordination between the policies of the Eur-

14.
opean Union and those of individual Member States;

Calls on the Council and Commission to encourage regional cooperation, partnership and South-

15.
South trade;

Calls on the Council and the Member States to become more actively involved in settling conflicts
16.
and disputes amongst the countries of the region and, in this vein, to promote all political and diplomatic
initiatives aimed at bringing about a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

17.
ments of the Member States.

2. EIB loans to Greece * (procedure without debate)

A5-0322/2000

Proposal for a Council decision on the granting of funds to Greece in order to relieve the interest
burden on EIB loans for the reconstruction of the region which was devastated by the earthquake
of September 1999 (COM(2000) 632 8 C5-0532/2000 8 2000/0255(CNS))

The proposal was approved.