Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting, New York – EU High Representative for CFSP comments – European Council press release/Non-UN document

Brussels, 24 September 2007

S261/07

Summary of the intervention of

Javier SOLANA,

EU High Representative for the CFSP,

at Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in New York

Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), made the following comments during his intervention at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting that took place on 24 September 2007, in New York, in the margins of the UN General Assembly:

"I would like to thank Norway for convening this unique meeting. The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) is the only permanent international forum where Israel and Palestine, together with the international community, discuss questions pertaining to cooperation. It is the first time that AHLC it meets at this level since Oslo.

The Quartet meeting of yesterday was very good. Having attended all the Quartet meetings, I think there is a sense of movement shared by all the Quartet members, and I am also sure that this is the feeling of the members of the Arab League. The spirit has changed. We need to build on this momentum and bring concrete changes before the end of the year. We must take the word “failure” out of our vocabulary. We cannot afford to fail.

We welcome the efforts of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to reform the Palestinian institutions. I am sure that he will do a very good job in reviving the Palestinian economy. I also want to thank Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for her speech. I will always remember that night when we had dinner in Sderot and Qassam rockets started to be fired. These kind of experiences make me continue to struggle for peace.

If it is handled properly, we now have a moment in which a political horizon can be opened. The Palestinian economy can be revitalised and changes can be made on the ground, all at the same time. Our aim is to create a Palestinian state and for this we need a viable economy. We need freedom of access and movement and, at the same time, we need security for Israel. This is difficult but not impossible to achieve.

With the calendar ahead of us – the November meeting, which has been prepared very constructively with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, and the donors' conference in December – we have a real chance to make a dream reality."

________________