Middle East peace process/Assistance/Situation in Lebanon – EU-US Summit/Declaration – European Council press release/Non-UN document (excerpts)

COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 21 June 2006

10783/06 (Presse 189)

EU-US SUMMIT – Vienna, 21 June 2006

VIENNA SUMMIT DECLARATION

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Promoting Peace, Human Rights and Democracy Worldwide

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We will continue to closely cooperate in the Middle East, notably through the Quartet. We welcome the temporary international mechanism to deliver assistance directly to the Palestinian people. We will continue to deliver humanitarian assistance and promote Palestinian democracy and civil society. Whilst recalling President Abbas’ commitment to a platform of peace, we will continue to urge the new Palestinian government to commit to non-violence, recognise Israel’s right to exist and accept existing agreements and obligations. We will continue to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access and movement and to take additional steps including with respect to the Palestinian tax and customs revenues, to improve the humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people. We remind both sides of their obligations under the 15 November 2005 Agreement. We will continue to promote a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the Roadmap in order to advance a just, viable and lasting two-state solution and we call on both parties to avoid unilateral measures that prejudice final status issues. We call on the Palestinian Authority government to implement policies that will permit the international community to provide greater support to and review its policies on contact with the Palestinian Authority.

We will strongly urge Syria to implement United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1559, 1595, 1636, 1680 and 1686 and to prevent its territory from being used to support violence in Iraq, and end cross-border transit and support for terrorist groups.

Similarly, Syria must end its support for Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, and prevent the smuggling of arms and other support to these groups. We will work together to increase support for human rights and democracy, and secure the release of political prisoners in Syria. We will strongly urge Syria to refrain from any attempt at destabilising Lebanon.

We will jointly support political, economic and institutional reforms in Lebanon, as well as its sovereignty, democracy, territorial integrity, unity and political independence. We will strengthen efforts to coordinate assistance to Lebanon, and we support the reform plan of the Lebanese government and seek to work towards an international Core Group conference. We support the efforts of the Lebanese government to disarm and disband Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, as called for in UNSCR 1559 and 1680, and we will support the call expressed by the UN Security Council to halt the flow of arms and funds to terrorist groups and militias. We support UNSCR 1686 and the continuation of the investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

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