ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Nov.16 - Euro-Med Talks.

A 2-day EU-Mediterranean conference in Marseille attended by the FMs of 15 EU states and Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, the PA and Tunisia - ends with a statement calling for Middle East peace and stressing Euro-Med economic co-operation. French FM Hubert Vedrine, representing the EU, in a concluding note calls for implementation of the Sharm El Shaikh agreement and for the lifting "as soon as possible" the Israeli imposed closures on Palestinian towns. His statement reaffirms EU support for Palestinian right to the establishment of a state in the near future "preferably through negotiations". The EU unveiled a euro 5.3 bn ($4.6 bn) financial aid plan for the Mediterranean states over the next 5 years. (Syria & Lebanon boycotted the conference. Arab and European participants pointed to the lack of a unified EU position on the Arab-Israeli peace process which complicated attempts to seek a greater European involvement in peace negotiations). Participating PA Planning and International Co-operation Minister Nabil Shaath said the Palestinians wanted "to see a real and just peace". He urged the EU to become more active in achieving that end and to abandon its "pernicious doctrine of neutrality". Israeli FM Shlomo Ben-Ami reiterated that peace hinged on Palestinian adherence to a cease-fire agreed upon at the Sharm El Shaikh summit.