London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority – Remarks by EUHR Solana – EU press release/Non-UN document

Brussels, 1 March 2005
S087/05

Summary of remarks by

Javier SOLANA,

EU High Representative for the CFSP,

at the Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority

London, 1st March 2005

Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, made the following remarks today on the occasion of the Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority.

"This meeting is all about supporting the Palestinian Authority. As far as Europe is concerned, this support has been consistent for more than ten years. We are not starting from scratch. Today's event should also be the opportunity to commend the Palestinians for their significant achievements in the areas of reform and governance, under very difficult circumstances. The Palestinians have earned the respect of the International Community by demonstrating a great sense of responsibility and political maturity.

Having been present on the ground frequently lately, including on the day of the presidential elections, I also can bear personal testimony that democracy is deeply anchored in Palestinian political culture. Together with ongoing municipal elections, Palestinians have set a very high standard for other Arab societies.

The collective role of the International Community is to help the Palestinians to achieve their ultimate goal of independence and sovereignty, in the framework of a just and lasting settlement, through the implementation of the Roadmap. This is a goal we all share.

The priority now is to build the institutions of the future Palestinian State. Accountable and exclusive management of public money and monopoly of the legitimate use of force constitutes essential foundations of any successful state. The report card of the Palestinian Authority in the field of financial management, under the competent stewardship of Finance Minister Fayyad, has won the praise of the donor's and the international financial institutions.

Much work remains to be done in the area of security. We are very encouraged by the statements made about the priority of security and the concrete measures on the ground by the Palestinian government and President Abu Mazen since he took office. Commitments to stop violence and to renounce terrorism must be implemented. A viable state cannot be built on a culture of violence. Terrorism has no place in a peace process. All Palestinians must now make the choice of achieving their political goals by legitimate political means and through negotiations. All countries in the region which have an influence on the opposition groups must help. Support for terrorist activities must stop.

The European Union stands ready to continue and enhance its ongoing programmes of assistance to the Palestinians in restructuring their police forces and to co-operate with other third parties to maximise efficiency of international help in that respect. The European Union welcomes the appointment of General Ward as US security coordinator. We look forward to co-operating closely with him, as well as with Egypt and Jordan to rebuild the capabilities of the re-structured Palestinian security services and to create the right conditions for efficient Israeli-Palestinian security co-ordination.

Security is an indispensable and integral part of the reform process. Without law and order, there can be no functioning judicial system and no business environment conducive to job creation and economic growth. Palestinian security services should regain the trust of the Palestinian population and become again reliable partners for their Israeli counterparts in order to allow resumption of an efficient security co-operation system.

But security also has to be seen in a wider context. An increased feeling of security among the Palestinians and a decrease in recruitment for terrorism will be crucially dependent on the rapid improvement of the economic and social situation of the population. Donor's money can help in that respect only if there is a change in the policy environment. Absent such a development, as the World Bank reports demonstrate, we will see a repeat of the last four years during which "while donors disbursements doubled to almost US$ 1 billion per annum, the real personal income fell by almost 40% in the same period". As the PA implements its obligations in the security area, Israel has to dramatically alter the system of closures that restrict the movement of people and goods. It has to make a reappraisal of what the World Bank describes as the "importance of Palestinian economic stability to Israel's own security".

This economic perspective has to be complemented by a political one that enables the Palestinian leadership to strengthen its legitimacy and to keep the national consensus around the project of reforms on the one hand, and the definitive renunciation to violence as a means to achieve political goals on the other, including cracking down on those who continue to plan terrorist acts.

There is no need to rush to final status issues. But a state is not a set of abstract notions. It is a physical and political space within which a nation can exercise its sovereignty. The Palestinians need to be given as much physical, political and economic space as possible, as soon as possible."

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FOR FURTHER DETAILS:

Spokesperson of the Secretary General, High Representative for CFSP

 + 32 (0)2 285 6467 / 6217 / 8239 / 5150/ 5151 + 32 (0)2 285 5694

internet: http://ue.eu.int/solana

e-mail: presse.cabinet@consilium.eu.int