Date of release : 02-03-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and current President of the Council of the European Union, Jean Asselborn, met with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in the evening of 2 March 2005 in Brussels.

The discussions focused on the understandings reached at Sharm-el-Sheik on 8 February and on the London meeting on supporting the Palestinian Authority on 1 March 2005.

President Abbas reaffirmed the commitment of the Palestinian side to the peace process and to a swift implementation of the Road Map.

The Presidency declared that the European Union would continue to support the strengthening of Palestinian institutions and the reform efforts in the security field undertaken by the Palestinian Authority.

Prime Minister Juncker and Minister Asselborn also expressed their hope that the assistance pledged at the London meeting would help the Palestinian Authority tackle the most pressing social and economic needs in the Palestinian Territories.

All participants agreed that a clear perspective for a better future, particularly in the fields of economic and social development, would reinforce the impetus for reform among Palestinians. This is why the international community as a whole should now live up to its financial and political commitments to help establish a viable and contiguous Palestinian state.