By Nicola Smith - 3rd March 2004
Europe must keep America’s commitment to the Middle East peace process on track as Washington enters its election year, the EU’s Middle East envoy has told EUpolitix.com.
As the US leadership gears up to its November poll, there are legitimate concerns that its focus on the internationally-backed ‘road map’ for peace may waver, said Marc Otte.
“These concerns are real. They are justified by the fact that an administration, a president who is looking to be re-elected does not want to add to his problems,” he said.
“It is up to the Europeans to show that they are capable of being pro-active and the ones to lead, to pull the Americans along. That’s something that we must prove.”
And, Otte observed, there is an emerging political will on the part of the EU to assume more responsibility for conflict resolution in the trouble region.
“There is an awareness that leaving things as they stand is not an option and therefore there should be more vigorous activity on the part of the European Union.”
But it is no secret that the EU has been and remains limited by what Washington will accept for the region, Otte conceded.
“Europeans have always to an extent been limited by the US willingness to act or not to act.”
“The Middle East remains such an overwhelming interest for the US that acting without the US is basically impossible. So it’s not a matter of who can do more or less.”
And as Otte heads today for a ministerial meeting in Cairo which will pave the way for an Arab League summit at the end of March, he cautioned that the EU and America must not “patronise” the Arab world.
Europe’s long-held partnerships in the region and America’s recently mooted ‘Wider Middle East’ initiative must work together with Arab nations to foster reform from within.
“What we want are two things we see as indispensable for success. One is ownership, local ownership. I mean no patronising of the Arab countries, no imposition of an agenda,” Otte stressed.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, also attending the Cairo talks, is to press Arab leaders to emerge from the Tunisian summit at the end of March with a clear message of how to overcome the current Middle East stalemate.
For the full transcript of the EUpolitix interview with Marc Otte, click on the 'further reading' link to the right.
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