lennart
04-07-03, 13:48
Sharon and Abbas accept invitation to Norway
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian
counterpart Mahmoud Abbas have accepted the
Norwegian invitation to visit Oslo on July 16,
Norway's prime minister said in an interview to an
Arabic daily.
The invitation to Norway is only
one sign that indicates the
Europeans are trying to improve
ties with Sharon and his
government after nearly three
years of cooling relations
between Israel and Europe.
Sharon will also be traveling
to England, after more than a
year in which he stayed away
from the continent. The invitations are
regarded by Israel as signals of a new openness
to the prime minister.
A government source warned not to expect a
European bear hug, however. "Over-optimism
would be a mistake," he said. "The Europeans
have yet to declare a change in policy."
Indeed, Israel's ambassador to Germany sharply
criticized the EU in an interview published
Friday and spoke of a "trust deficit" with
Brussels.
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
told Al-Sharq al-Awsat, an Arabic daily
published in London and Beirut, that his
country wields influence over Israel and the
Palestinians, and can help push forward the
peace process, Israel Radio reported Friday.
"Sharon's historical decision to be the first
Likud prime minister to accept the
establishment of a Palestinian state must be
remembered," Bondevik said.
But Shimon Stein, Israel's ambassador to
Germany, sharply criticized the European
Union's stance in the Middle East conflict. In
the interview in the Mainz daily Allgemeine
Zeitung, Stein distinguished between Israel's
view of Germany and its view of the rest of the
EU.
"Germany enjoys high esteem with us, something
which other European states and which the
European Union as an institution cannot claim,"
he said. Stein singled out EU criticism of
Israel's actions against the Palestinians as
having left deep scars.
"There is an enormous trust deficit between
Israel and the EU," he said. "If the EU wants
to play a role in the Mideast peace process
then it must dismantle this trust deficit. If
this does not happen, it will scarcely be
possible for Israel to accept the EU as a
trustworthy partner."
The Israeli ambassador also expressed
understanding for Germany's refusal to take
part in the war in Iraq. He said the issue "is
now academic and one should put it in the
files."
There have been other signals of Sharon's
apparent new acceptability, though. The prime
minister received a letter a few days ago from
European Union foreign policy coordinator
Javier Solana, who proposed turning over a new
leaf in relations. Solana suggested an
Israeli-European dialogue on strategic issues
of common interest, including weapons of mass
destruction.
Jerusalem attributes the change to several
developments, but there's no doubt the Aqaba
summit was the main motivator for a European
reassessment of its approach to Israel. U.S.
President George W. Bush did not invite any
Europeans to the renewed political process in
the Middle East launched in Aqaba - they were
forced to watch it on CNN.
The immediate result was a European shift closer
to Washington on two regional issues: blocking
the Iranian nuclearization program and shutting
down financing for Hamas.
Israel was also brought into the 6th Framework
for Research and Development and the European
Space Agency, without any political conditions,
and an updated version of an economic agreement
between Israel and the EU will be signed soon,
widening the route for Israeli farm produce to
EU countries.
Furthermore, senior Israeli diplomats have heard
from Brussels that it is time to "contain"
problematic issues in the relationship, so, for
example, the Europeans are ready to neutralize
the long-standing land mine of the "sourcing
rules" about Israeli products from the
territories, which the Europeans threatened
with customs tariffs.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/314686.html
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian
counterpart Mahmoud Abbas have accepted the
Norwegian invitation to visit Oslo on July 16,
Norway's prime minister said in an interview to an
Arabic daily.
The invitation to Norway is only
one sign that indicates the
Europeans are trying to improve
ties with Sharon and his
government after nearly three
years of cooling relations
between Israel and Europe.
Sharon will also be traveling
to England, after more than a
year in which he stayed away
from the continent. The invitations are
regarded by Israel as signals of a new openness
to the prime minister.
A government source warned not to expect a
European bear hug, however. "Over-optimism
would be a mistake," he said. "The Europeans
have yet to declare a change in policy."
Indeed, Israel's ambassador to Germany sharply
criticized the EU in an interview published
Friday and spoke of a "trust deficit" with
Brussels.
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
told Al-Sharq al-Awsat, an Arabic daily
published in London and Beirut, that his
country wields influence over Israel and the
Palestinians, and can help push forward the
peace process, Israel Radio reported Friday.
"Sharon's historical decision to be the first
Likud prime minister to accept the
establishment of a Palestinian state must be
remembered," Bondevik said.
But Shimon Stein, Israel's ambassador to
Germany, sharply criticized the European
Union's stance in the Middle East conflict. In
the interview in the Mainz daily Allgemeine
Zeitung, Stein distinguished between Israel's
view of Germany and its view of the rest of the
EU.
"Germany enjoys high esteem with us, something
which other European states and which the
European Union as an institution cannot claim,"
he said. Stein singled out EU criticism of
Israel's actions against the Palestinians as
having left deep scars.
"There is an enormous trust deficit between
Israel and the EU," he said. "If the EU wants
to play a role in the Mideast peace process
then it must dismantle this trust deficit. If
this does not happen, it will scarcely be
possible for Israel to accept the EU as a
trustworthy partner."
The Israeli ambassador also expressed
understanding for Germany's refusal to take
part in the war in Iraq. He said the issue "is
now academic and one should put it in the
files."
There have been other signals of Sharon's
apparent new acceptability, though. The prime
minister received a letter a few days ago from
European Union foreign policy coordinator
Javier Solana, who proposed turning over a new
leaf in relations. Solana suggested an
Israeli-European dialogue on strategic issues
of common interest, including weapons of mass
destruction.
Jerusalem attributes the change to several
developments, but there's no doubt the Aqaba
summit was the main motivator for a European
reassessment of its approach to Israel. U.S.
President George W. Bush did not invite any
Europeans to the renewed political process in
the Middle East launched in Aqaba - they were
forced to watch it on CNN.
The immediate result was a European shift closer
to Washington on two regional issues: blocking
the Iranian nuclearization program and shutting
down financing for Hamas.
Israel was also brought into the 6th Framework
for Research and Development and the European
Space Agency, without any political conditions,
and an updated version of an economic agreement
between Israel and the EU will be signed soon,
widening the route for Israeli farm produce to
EU countries.
Furthermore, senior Israeli diplomats have heard
from Brussels that it is time to "contain"
problematic issues in the relationship, so, for
example, the Europeans are ready to neutralize
the long-standing land mine of the "sourcing
rules" about Israeli products from the
territories, which the Europeans threatened
with customs tariffs.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/314686.html