THE EU MUST BE UNITED IN SUPPORTING THE PALESTINIAN BID FOR RECOGNITION IN THE UNITED NATIONS

Joint statement by

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists

Martin Schulz, President of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament

The upcoming 66th session of the UN General Assembly and the Palestinian initiative, that has been announced by President Mahmoud Abbas for a number of months now, give a unique opportunity for the EU and its Member States. It would allow them to demonstrate their solidarity with and express their support to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to have their own state and to obtain the recognition of this state by the international community.

The right of Palestinians to have their own state is unquestionable as it is the right of Israel to exist.

The Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament and the Party of European Socialists have repeatedly expressed their support for the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security.

The success of the two-year state-building plan of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, supported and endorsed by the EU and other international actors, has made Palestine ready for sovereign statehood and constitutes a solid basis for the recognition of the State of Palestine by the UN General Assembly.

The EU must say yes to the recognition of the State of Palestine.

This will strengthen our credibility in the world and will give a new momentum to peace efforts.

Peaceful and non-violent means are the only way to achieve a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Therefore, peace talks must resume without delay as only a negotiated agreement between the two sides can bring lasting peace and security to Israelis and Palestinians, which is crucial for a stable and prosperous Middle East.

In this context, any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties must be rejected.

The EU and its Member States must be united and coherent in supporting Palestinian statehood in this critical period and must play an active role, with a strong mandate to High Representative Catherine Ashton, in the efforts aimed at achieving just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen President Party of European Socialists                         

Martin Schulz President Group of the Progressive Alliance Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament

For further information please contact Brian Synnott on +32 474 98 96 75 (brian.synnott@pes.org)

The PES brings together 33 socialist, social democratic, labour and progressive parties in the European Union and Norway, a parliamentary group in the European Parliament (184 MEPs) and in the Committee of the Regions (247 members) - plus observer and associate parties and organizations from all over Europe. ECOSY and PES Women are respectively the Youth and the Women's organizations of the PES.