EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on Israeli-Palestinian agreement on Gaza border crossing

Following agreement reached by Israelis and Palestinians on the Gaza bording crossing, European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, has said:

"I welcome the significant breakthrough reached in Jerusalem and congratulate in particular the Quartet Special Envoy, James Wolfensohn, on his unstinting efforts. This opens the way to much needed greater mobility for Palestinians and with EU presence they will now be able to manage the border between Gaza and Egypt.

The Commission is already active in capacity building on border issues, and in supporting the modernisation of the Palestinian customs services. A €40 million infrastructure facility was launched during my visit to the region last week. And I hope it will soon also be possible to unblock €25million which I have earmarked for building a new cargo terminal for the Gaza airport. The EU stands ready to further support the agreement reached today with a range of measures, which respond to requests from the Israelis and the Palestinians."

See also: Agreed documents by Israel and Palestinians on Movement and Access from and to Gaza

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• EUHR Solana remarks on agreement on Rafah (15/11/2005)
• Joint statement by EUHR Solana and UK FS Straw on Israeli-Palestinian Agreement on Movement and Access  (15/11/2005)
• Quartet Statement on Middle East Peace Process  (9/11/2005)
• EU Council Conclusions - Middle East Peace Process (7/11/2005)
• EU Commission welcomes Israeli Palestinian progress on movement of people and goods (3/11/2005)
• European Commission welcomes Israeli disengagement from Gaza and prepares further measures to support peace process (25/8/2005)