Launched with the Madrid Conference in 1991, the israeli-Palestinian peace process led to the historical handshake between Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres at the White House in Washington. American president Clinton, thus sealed the signature of a statement of principles, and reaffirmed the position of his country as the privileged mediator of the two parts in conflict. Since 1991, significant progress has been accomplished.
[...] Thus, it seems interesting to study the role of the European Union in the regulation of the conflict in the Middle East in detail, from the years 1991-1992, until today. Does one have to accept the thesis which would make the EU a simple actor of economic support for the area, an attitude explained by the history of the process of European integration, marked until today by its economic dimension? How did the action of EU move with respect to this area, and what were the perceptions of the two parties in conflict compared to it? [...]
[...] The relative marginalization of the European community within the framework of the multilateral discussions, is related to the American will to confine Europe to its economic dimension, by avoiding any political counterweight in the Middle East area, and more generally in the world. In fact, Madrid really symbolizes the new world order preached by George Bush, by combining American leadership, weakening of the Soviet Union and the mrginalization of Europe. With the focus of the working group on regional economic development, the European Community preaches the importance of the economic combination of action and social measures in order to support a regional political integration in the Middle East. [...]
[...] It is characterized by the creation of a station of European special correspondent in the Middle East (1996); the signing of an Interim agreement of association between the European Union and the PLO (1997); and the trade conflict which opposes Israel to EU in 1998. Conclusion If the difficulty to found a European CFSP is a fact, it is mainly because of the will of the European national States to preserve an influence in foreign politics. However, Palestine is a place where the advent of European foreign politics hurt no national susceptibility, but rather can contribute to reinforce the influence of each State of the EU. [...]
[...] The agreements of Barcelona want to be (in perceptible European logic in the declarations of common strategy since the year 2000) the starting point of a structural presence of the Union in Palestine, both at the political and the economic level. In 1995, an agreement of association between the European Union and Israel was signed, a few days before the signature of the Declaration of Barcelona, replacing a cooperation agreement dating back to 1975. Admittedly, the institutional framework of the Barcelona agreements allowed a certain mediatization of the objections of the Arab countries against Israel. [...]
[...] The call of the European Union in favor of peace in the Middle East is important as it takes into account the psychological dimension of the conflict, which places the relations between the people at the core of the future reconciliation. It was the Declaration of Berlin of March 1999 which explicitly formalized the right of the Palestinian people to benefit from an independent State, on the basis of existing agreement, and by a process of negotiations which was not necessarily related to the regulation of the conflict. [...]
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