Paul McGrath
Ceist:7 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his travel plans and overseas engagements to the end of 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14535/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 19 May 2004
Ceisteanna (7)
Freagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)
As holder of the EU Presidency, Ireland hosts a wide range of regular meetings in Brussels as well as representing the Union at a range of meetings in Ireland and in third countries. In this regard, the following is a list of my confirmed overseas engagements until the end of the Presidency.
Tomorrow and Friday, I will be in Moscow for the EU-Russia summit. I will attend the Arab League summit in Tunis, which is on Saturday, and the EU-Latin America-Caribbean summit in Mexico next week. On 14 and 15 June, I will chair the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg and I will attend the European Council in Brussels on 17 and 18 June. There will also be a GAERC meeting next Monday, 24 May.
Following the conclusion of the Presidency, I will review my travel plans for the remainder of 2004. However, I can confirm that I will attend the General Affairs and External Relations Council meetings in July, September, October, November and December, God willing. I will also attend the meetings of the European Council in Brussels in November and December.
With regard to the Arab League summit, does the Minister intend to use his considerable influence in that area with a view to accelerating the discussions that have taken place in a haphazard way between the Israelis and the Palestinians?
When the last scheduled summit of the Arab League was postponed, I went to Cairo to speak to the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Mr. Maher, and President Mubarak. I spoke to my Tunisian colleague yesterday on the phone and I am looking forward to attending the Arab League summit in Tunis. Arrangements have yet to be confirmed but I hope, given that we are holders of the Presidency, that I will be able to address the league on the efforts we continue to make in the development of our neighbourhood policy through developing a strategic partnership with the Mediterranean and Middle East region.
With regard to the peace process, I welcome the recent meetings between the Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice and Abu Allah in Berlin. Despite what is happening in Rafah and the continuation of a difficult situation, let us hope that the re-engagement taking place shows there is an interlocutor for peace on the Palestinian side, as there always has been. Perhaps the Arab League will be able to reiterate its commitment to the Beirut initiative which sets out a prospect for normalisation of relations between the Arab world and Israel on the basis of a negotiated settlement based on the 1967 borders with final status matters to be negotiated between the parties directly, as confirmed at the Quartet meeting in New York recently.
Does the Minister agree that the thousands of dispossessions and people rendered homeless in Rafah make the meeting particularly urgent? Will the meeting facilitate an initiative that will respond to what is happening at present, which probably renders the more positive aspects of the agenda fragile? Will the Minister say what has been happening, by way of a European Union initiative or an initiative on his behalf since events in Rafah were drawn to his attention?
Javier Solana and Marc Otte, the EU representative in the region, have been doing what they can to impress upon the Israeli Government the severity of the actions being taken in Rafah. They involve not only destruction of property but also deaths. The concern is that the action in Rafah is in preparation for a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. It is the quartet's strong view that such a withdrawal could have the potential to reactivate the roadmap if certain criteria are met. Obviously, the Arab League will have something to say about the situation there at present.
I will meet Saeb Erekat today at 4.10 p.m. before meeting a delegation from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. I will get an update from him. The Arab League must deal with statements on the present situation in the Middle East, its preparedness to put the Beirut initiative on the table and a commitment from the region regarding reforms and the need to meet the significant requirements and needs of that part of the world as outlined in the 2002 UN development report from Arab intellectuals. The important point the EU has been making in its interaction in the Euro-Med process, the G8 process and in the EU-US context — I met the Secretary of State in Washington in preparation for the EU-US summit — is there must be recognition of the importance of reform deriving from the region itself as the only way to sustain progress in this area.
May I ask another question?
There are two problems, Deputy. The first is that we have run out of time on this question and the other is that we are going outside the remit of the question. There will be an opportunity on Question No. 10 on the same subject.