Berger: «The EU stands with the Palestinians towards the goal of establishing the Palestinian state»

Gaza – Wednesday, 26 May 2010 – Christian Berger, the European Union's representative in the Palestinian territories, affirmed the European Union's commitment to supporting the Palestinians in order to accomplish the goal represented in establishing a democratic and prosperous Palestinian state.

That came during the second episode of the programme “Face the Public”, organised by Pal-Think for Strategic Studies in cooperation with the German Friedrich Ebert foundation within the project “Toward a democratic, institutional, and pluralistic Palestinian political system”. Omar Shaban, president of Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, affirmed during his welcoming of Mr Berger the importance of the role the European Union plays toward supporting the Palestinian people and their institutions.

Dr Michael Bröning, the regional director of the German Friedrich Ebert foundation, expressed his great happiness at attending the meeting, affirming his great happiness at the cooperation with Pal-Think for Strategic Studies.

During the meeting Mr Berger reviewed the historical stages of the European support directed to the Palestinian people at all the levels, humanitarian and political, where he affirmed the European Union's commitment toward the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, pointing to the importance of accomplishing the two-state solution, since it is the optimal road for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

On the level of executive support, Mr Berger spoke of the European Union's continuous support for building the institutions of the coming Palestinian state through founding the infrastructure necessary for establishing the state. He pointed to the Union's continued support for the relief and works agency for refugees “UNRWA”, in addition to backing the Palestinian Authority through building its institutions and activating them.

Mr Berger also affirmed that supporting the Palestinians heads the European Union's attention, and that the Union's direction during the current and coming year is coordinating the European Union's work toward supporting the Palestinian Authority and building the institutions of the coming state. He pointed out that the world financial crisis impedes the course of fulfilling the European Union's commitments to limiting the spread of poverty and unemployment, improving the Palestinians' living conditions, supporting the private sector, and contributing to solving the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Berger concluded his talk with the point that the European Union's support for Palestine will continue, pointing to the importance of directing this support in the suitable form, through reaching the building of a democratic, prosperous, and viable Palestinian state.

The participants expressed their gratitude for the European Union's role toward the Palestinians, and expressed the necessity that the European Union's role take a more influential course, particularly at the political level and toward contributing to lifting the blockade from the Gaza Strip.

Face the Public is a programme aiming at creating a constructive dialogue in Palestinian society through organising regular meetings between society's representatives — civil-society activists, businessmen, and decision-makers — and local and international figures and institutions of influence at the political and economic levels.