THE HAGUE, Nov 30 (AFP) - The European Union Tuesday used regional talks attended by the Israelis and Palestinians to urge its Arab partners to engage in the Middle East peace process and in political reform.
EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana complained that the EU-Mediterranean (Euromed) dialogue, the only forum at which Israel sits down for regular talks with the Arab world, had long been held hostage by the Middle East conflict.
"That can and must change," he said in a speech to Euromed foreign ministers including Israel's Silvan Shalom and his Palestinian counterpart Nabil Shaath, who on Monday held their first bilateral talks in months here.
"We, collectively and individually, must help the Palestinian people to succeed in their transition to a new direction," Solana said.
"Everyone will be a winner: there will be more security for the Israelis and Palestinians, and more stability for the whole of our region and beyond."
Europe and the United States have expressed new hope for the peace process ahead of an election on January 9 to choose a successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Shalom said after meeting Shaath in The Hague that the election represented a "door of opportunity", and reaffirmed Israel's commitment to allowing free movement of Palestinian voters in the occupied territories.
"Israel and Europe agreed that the emergence of a responsible and democratically accountable Palestinian leadership is vitally important for all future peace efforts," he added.
The Euromed meeting was also attended by foreign ministers or their deputies from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Libya came as an observer, in another retreat from its international isolation.
Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said discussions on the next steps for the peace process over dinner Monday had been "very frank".
The so-called roadmap to Israeli-Palestinian peace "remains at the centre of our efforts to resolve the conflict", Bot told the meeting Tuesday.
"It requires from all parties difficult decisions aimed at improving security and building trust ... with a view to reaching a lasting, comprehensive and just solution of the conflict," he said.
Bot also urged the Arab world to deepen modernisation and work with Europe to confront the challenges of economic development, trade, migration and the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime.
"We fully recognise that reform should come from the region itself. Nevertheless, Europe cannot stay at the sidelines of this debate. The common challenges are simply too important for that to be a possibility," he said.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the 25-nation bloc's executive arm was prepared to release around 250 million euros in aid to the Palestinians in 2005, the same as this year.
She said that the Euromed talks were marked by a "completely different atmosphere" between the Israelis and Arabs.
"There was a lot of talk of moderation, of pragmatism, but there was also talk about good elections, the elections that have to be facilitated and supported by everyone," the Austrian commissioner said.
"From the Israeli side, there was a very constructive tone. Now of course all these tones, all these sounds, they have to be transmitted into real things."
11/30/2004 10:27 GMT - AFP