Euro-Med parliamentary delegation for Middle East

The European Parliament and a number of national parliaments from the Mediterranean yesterday decided to send a parliamentary mission to the Middle East to assess the situation following the conflict in Lebanon.

The president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, and the Speakers of the Greek, Egyptian and Tunisian parliaments, meeting during an extraordinary session of the bureau of the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, adopted a declaration which includes a decision to send a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) delegation to Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The delegation will include MPs from the European Parliament and representatives of the national parliaments represented in the assembly.

During the meeting, the bureau discussed developments in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. In its efforts to restart a political dialogue in the conflict area, the EMPA also called upon the European Union to convene as soon as possible a council meeting of the Euro-Med foreign ministers under the auspices of the Barcelona Process.

In a declaration approved unanimously at the end of the meeting, the bureau called on the international community to face up to its responsibility for ensuring that the United Nations' resolution is fully implemented as quickly as possible and stressed that no ceasefire can be sustainable without the political will to tackle the causes of the recent crisis.

The declaration also states that a comprehensive settlement to the conflict will require an overall regional peace agreement based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

As the only parliamentary institution for elected representatives of the peoples of the southern Mediterranean shore and the European Union, the bureau said it will assume its responsibility of facilitating the resumption of dialogue and cooperation between the parties to the Middle East situation.