Brepoels calls for EU clarity on Mid East peace process
A press release by N-VA MEP Frieda Brepoels
Flemish MEP Frieda Brepoels (N-VA) has called for the EU to take a clear and unequivocal position on the future of East Jerusalem.
Brepoels was speaking in a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with the Council and Commission on the current situation in the Middle East and East Jerusalem. The debate follows a Council statement of 8 December calling for further negotiations and for a way to be found to make Jerusalem the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state.
Brepoels is a member of the European Parliament's Working Group on the Middle East which will meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments.
Speaking during the debate in Strasbourg, Frieda Brepoels said:
"The EU's delegation leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah made very clear in their report of 23 November that Israel is actively engaged in the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and in the process of isolating it from the rest of the West Bank. Why then does the Foreign Affairs Council not draw firm conclusions from this? Why not confirm such an important factual report knowing that such an illegal development becomes irreversible, casting doubt on the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state side by side with Israel?
"The Middle East peace process has no need for woolly messages. It is high time and the right moment for the EU to take an active and visible role in the region. But this can only happen if we are ready to take a clear and unequivocal position on this issue."
