EU Parliament President to lead Euro-Med Assembly delegation to Gaza

A delegation of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly will go to Gaza on 23-24 February to assess the needs of the civilian population in an objective manner, said Hans-Gert Pöttering, after chairing Thursday's meeting of the Assembly's Bureau, which decided to send the mission.

The delegation of parliamentarians from both sides of the Mediterranean will be led by Hans-Gert Pöttering, who is both President of the European Parliament and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA), and will include the chairpersons of the various EMPA committees.

Rebuilding Gaza

The assessment of humanitarian needs and the rebuilding of Gaza will be at the centre of the delegation's fact finding mission to the region.

The delegation will visit Gaza under the auspices of UNWRA, the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East. MEPs and MPs are also expected to meet high ranking representatives from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Hans-Gert Pöttering summed up the Bureau meeting saying: "Despite the difficult situation, we are here today united, aware of our common responsibility in getting the peace process back on track. Politically and ethically we are bound to not only believe in a peaceful and lasting peace solution for the Middle East, but to work towards it. We have to help the people of Gaza by opening the borders, while preventing Hamas from arming again. We are in favour of peace and resolutely against terrorism. The Bureau of EMPA asks the Quartet (European Union, United Stated, United Kingdom and Russia) to engage with determination in a peace process leading to a settlement under the auspices of the United Nations, and strongly calls on all partners to support such an initiative without reservation".

EMPA March plenary session in Brussels

The Bureau also adopted today the agenda of the March (16-17) annual plenary session to be held in the European Parliament's premises in Brussels. High level political interlocutors are expected to attend. The situation in the Middle-East and the impact of the economic crisis in the Mediterranean region will take centre stage.

Chaired by Hans-Gert Pöttering, the EMPA Bureau is composed of Abdel Hadi Al-Majali, Speaker of the Jordan Assembly, Gianfranco Fini, Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and Mustapha Mansouri, President of the Moroccan Chamber of Representatives.

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