Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2013
14. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions, if any, he has had with Commissioner Ashton or at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in relation to the Israeli/Palestine conflict; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23194/13]
View answer86. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which the Middle East peace process continues to remain in focus at EU and or UN level; the extent, if any, to which progress can be reported in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23618/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 86 together.
I have had regular discussions with High Commissioner Ashton and with my European Union colleagues at the Foreign Affairs Council in relation to the Israeli/Palestine conflict and the Middle East Peace Process. To date this year, the Middle East Peace Process has been discussed at both the January and February Councils and at the informal Ministerial meeting which I co-hosted in Dublin in March. It is expected that this issue will again be discussed at the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting in May, although the agenda for this meeting has not yet been finalised.
Recent discussions have focused in particular on prospects for reviving the peace process following the elections in Israel and re-engagement by the new US Administration. The EU has always recognised that it would be very difficult to restart negotiations on the Middle East without the active engagement of the United States. We are therefore anxious to give all the support we can to renewed involvement by the US. The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is treating the peace process as a personal priority and has made several visits to the region. President Obama’s decision to visit Israel in March, at the start of his second term, was also very welcome. His clear outreach to Israeli public opinion will hopefully help to add momentum to the process. I conveyed to Secretary Kerry the strong encouragement of the EU and discussed the prospects for making progress at a meeting which I had with him in Washington on 18 March, just before he left for Israel.
While the resumption of talks is a key priority, the EU has also become increasingly concerned that the relentless expansion of the Israeli settlement programme is fast approaching a point where it will be physically impossible to construct a viable Palestinian state on the ground. The EU has therefore pressed for changes in these policies and for action on a range of practical issues on the ground which are inhibiting the prospects for a viable peace process.
