26 April - 2 May 2001
Issue No.531
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 April - 2 May 2001 Issue No.531 |
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'A very big mistake'
Is Europe considering a larger role in the Middle East conflict? Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel speaks to Tarek Atia at the beginning of his regional tour
With the sharp deterioration of the situation in the occupied territories, two European foreign ministers were in Cairo this week during regional tours intended to improve their knowledge of the Middle East conflict first hand before assuming the European Union (EU) presidency. Louis Michel, Belgium's top diplomat, whose country will preside over the EU as of July 2001, was in Cairo on his way to the heart of the conflict. Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique, who will be heading European diplomacy as of January 2002, chose to visit Cairo on his way back from Palestine and Israel. Both sounded out Egyptian views -- as well as those of Israel, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon -- in an attempt to formulate Europe's stance towards the conflict.
Considered by Egyptian diplomats as both daring and moderate, Michel was recently named Israel's "most vociferous European critic" in the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post.
In February, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's envoy and discussed calls in the Belgian parliament urging the recall of the Belgian ambassador to Israel and the imposition of trade sanctions. "When a minister of foreign affairs takes the time to tell an envoy something like that it means he himself has questions on that matter," Michel told Al-Ahram Weekly. "But we were very surprised at the way this conversation was later made public."
Michel shrugged off the possibility of Europe adopting a harsher public stance on Israel. "In this tour I am already speaking as Europe," he said. "I have to be careful, if I speak too strongly now, then we may be out of the game before it starts."
Michel indicated that he had formulated a very comprehensive understanding of the Egyptian-Jordanian proposal for the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, which he described as "keeping the positive aspects of Sharm Al-Sheikh... a good road map to start a new dialogue." He will use the document to ask Sharon some very specific questions. Michel has made it clear that he takes Sharon's tough talk with a grain of salt, explaining, "Because I am a politician of experience I know that there is sometimes a gap between strong statements and what a politician really thinks."
On Monday, Michel cancelled a visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Arab Jerusalem, after Israeli authorities insisted that he had to be accompanied by Israeli security men. Palestinians, in control of Al-Haram, vehemently reject any visits by foreign dignitaries accompanied by Israeli soldiers.
During his meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Sharon told Michel he was seeking a more balanced EU policy, while at the same time signalling that he was coming to terms with the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative.
Before heading to Palestine, Michel sought Egypt's views on issues such as whether Arafat was wrong in not accepting proposals made at the second Camp David conference, hosted by Bill Clinton. This and other issues were clarified, Michel said, by Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. Palestinians denied they were made any generous offers, particularly on Jerusalem and the right of return of millions of Palestinian refugees.
As for potential Israeli worries about Belgium's EU presidency, Michel said, "Being neutral does not forbid us from judging openly and clearly." The minister suggested that Europe will be "equidistant" and will judge "the parties in the same way, using the same values, using the same measure."
Reminding reporters that Europe is the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority, Michel said, "Maybe this financial role should be translated into political influence. Maybe that is also the future of Europe's role in the conflict," he suggested.
During the Spanish and Belgian visits, Moussa reiterated the importance of Europe's role in helping resolve the conflict. "We are not asking Europe to take a stand with the Arabs, but with the peace process," Moussa said.
Earlier, one Egyptian diplomat explained, "The Arabs could always depend on European backing in the form of a strong, fair and clear point of view. The latest developments have led us to believe that this is not necessarily true." Arab countries were particularly dismayed when Europe abstained from voting on a Security Council resolution in favour of the deployment of an international force in the occupied territories to monitor Israel's violations of Palestinian rights. European countries also abstained on similar resolutions condemning Israel at the UN Commission of Human Rights last week.
Similar dissatisfaction has been expressed regarding the stalled Barcelona Process, a long-term political and economic partnership that links European and Mediterranean nations. In response to this, Michel said, "I can understand that they have this feeling but they are wrong. They are definitely wrong. Europe does everything she can to help and to contribute and to justify and to support." Europe can play a role, he argued, as long as it does not result in "excessive emotional reactions." At the same time, Michel suggested freeing the Barcelona Process from the constraints of the peace process. "I'm not sure it is the best place to help because it is generally used as a forum to make speeches. There are too many people around the table to make the speeches positive."
On the peace process itself, Michel argued, "It would be a very big mistake if Europe had a pretension to play a bigger role than the United States, or to be able to play a role without the United States." Asked about the American aim to disengage from the peace process, Michel said, "That would not only be a mistake but a fault, a humanitarian fault. A political fault, that would reflect on the political, moral role of the United States. I refuse to imagine that the United States will disengage. I don't believe they will disengage."
Moussa, meanwhile, rejected out of hand suggestions that a second Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid could get things rolling again. "There is no use," he said. "Madrid I has already set the stage. Ten years later the process has failed. We don't need to re-start negotiations that lead nowhere. If you want to provide a forum for Sharon to say 'No to stopping settlements, no to stopping bulldozers...' then hold it. But it won't have any credibility."
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