Euromed

News

Ashton travels to Israel and occupied Palestinian territory to push peace talks

24-01-2012

 EU High Representative Catherine Ashton will be visiting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory from Tuesday 24 to Thursday 26 January. The visit marks the latest stage in her ongoing efforts to encourage the two sides to return to the negotiating table, in line with the Quartet statement from September. It follows the recent start of face-to-face meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Amman. 

 
"I look forward to talking to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. I will continue to make every effort to push the peace talks and encourage the parties in the path towards a negotiated solution," Catherine Ashton said. "The fact that negotiators are talking to each other face-to-face is encouraging, and I'd like to express my thanks to the King of Jordan for his initiative, closely linked to the efforts by the Quartet. I'll be looking for positive signs from both sides that they are prepared to turn this progress into real gestures and negotiations. Time is of the essence. Developments in the region make peace in the Middle East even more urgent and necessary." 
 
During the visit, the High Representative will meet Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
 
She will also visit the Gaza Training Centre, where she will sign the Financing Agreement with UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and meet representatives of civil society.  (ENPI Info Centre)
 
Read more
 
Press release
 
The EU and the Middle East Peace process
 
ENPI Info Centre - EU appoints German diplomat as Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process 
 

NEWS
Syria: Council strengthens EU sanctions once again
  In view of the gravity of the situation in Syria, EU foreign ministers o...
Cooperation in pictures: new photo galleries from EU projects in Israel
The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre has published nine new high-resolution photo ga...
Young Arab Voices Forum: Arab League Chief calls for youth to play central role in rebuilding regional institutions
The Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil El Araby has called on ...
FEATURES
A good recipe for farming? Trading pesticides for owls
It was a cultural barrier that the European Union had to address together with i...
Struggling for life
The lucky ones, whose lives have been spared, face an uncertain future in squali...
“I have learned to tame fire”
  They have learned to deal with fire extinguishing and first aid, earthqu...
PUBLICATIONS
Eurostat guide: European neighbourhood policy countries - demography
  European Neighbourhood Policy Countries – demography. This leaflet...
Ethics of Border Security
1. EU Border Guard agencies operate under Codes of Conduct which specify the...
Projects in Action: cooperation through the eyes of journalists in the South
Cooperation between the European Union and the countries participating in the Eu...
LINKS
EU non-proliferation consortium
INTERACT ENPI
Regional Capacity Building Initiative RCBI