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By Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, Head of PASSIA, Jerusalem
On 24-25 January 2000, the Fourth Annual Conference of EuroMeSCo was held in Ramallah, Palestine, hosted by PASSIA, one of the founding members of the former MeSCo. Most of the EuroMeSCo members will remember the hard work that preceded the 1997 General Assembly vote in favor of holding the conference in Palestine with PASSIA as the organizer of the event in 1999. The idea was that 1999 marked the year when the transitional period of the peace process lapsed, and the declaration of a Palestinian state was expected, though the latter was deferred for well-known reasons. The conference - originally scheduled to convene in Jerusalem where PASSIA is based - had to be moved to Ramallah due to Israeli objections, and the date had to be postponed from November 1999 to January 2000, due to financial reasons. In spite of these changes, I think everyone will agree with me that it was a success. From a Palestinian point of view, I would like to add that the meeting sent a message of solidarity to the Palestinian people and endorsed their efforts in the peace process.
The conference, entitled “Peace and Political Transition in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Area,” was attended by over 30 delegates, representing 25 EuroMeSCo member institutes (including observers) from 19 countries. In addition, officials from Brussels and the EU Commission in Jerusalem represented the EU, while the Portuguese Ambassador in Tel Aviv and the Portuguese Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah addressed the participants on behalf of their country, which holds the current EU Presidency. Most strikingly absent were some of the Arab member states – namely Syria, Lebanon and Algeria – which still refuse to enter the Palestinian Territories via Israel and participate in conferences, seminars and other events. This unfortunately contributes to the Palestinian ‘isolation’ in the region and puts yet another hurdle in the way of sub-regional cooperation. Nevertheless, seeing countries still torn by territorial and border disputes (e.g., Israel and Palestine, Greece and Turkey), sitting side by side around one table sharing their points of view and developing ideas of common interest gives new hope that one day we will be in the position to formulate together a realistic vision of how the region can develop for the betterment of our future generations.
In the opening remarks, PLO Executive Committee member Faisal Husseini welcomed the participants of the EuroMeSCo annual conference and outlined the Palestinian vision of Jerusalem as a shared open city where the two people can have their seats of power as two capitals for two independent sovereign states. Portuguese Ambassador Jose Filipe Morais Cabral signaled the importance of the Barcelona process partnership, and said that the mission before the conference was to come up with creative thinking and plans to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
During the first panel, which dealt with the issue of political cooperation within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) area and the Euro-Mediterranean Charter, the main findings of the EuroMeSCo working groups were presented and discussed. The second session dealt with the relevance of the EMP to the Middle East Peace Process, taking into consideration that the former is considered a function of the progress of the latter.
The third session was a roundtable of Palestinian political and NGO actors, discussing the lessons and experiences drawn from the transitional period in Palestine. Hani Al-Hassan, on behalf of the PLO mainstream, spoke about the evolution of the Palestinian leadership and the difficulties of the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations; Mohammed Jadallah discussed the opposition’s role vis-à-vis the current weak Palestinian leadership and the peace process, stressing the need for more democratic participation; Ghassan Khatib explained the asymmetry of power governing the peace process in the current transitional phase that has prevented a real transition to take place so far; Izzat Abdul Hadi focused on the role of civil society in promoting democracy, the rule of law, and the concepts of transparency and accountability; and Hanan Ashrawi spoke about the role of public opinion and third parties during the transitional phase, the Palestinian disappointment with Israeli tactics and their fear of the failure of the peace process.
In the fourth and final panel EuroMeSCo’s future agenda was debated, with the focus of the brainstorming session laying on research priorities for the next two years.
The conference was followed by the convening of the EuroMeSCo General Assembly to approve the report and accounts for the 1998-1999 period and to vote for a new steering committee, as well as for new members and observers.
Although the overall Euro-Mediterranean Partnership scheme has in recent years suffered somewhat from the stalemate in the Middle East Peace Process and the fact that the MENA region is as yet one of numerous unresolved conflicts, the Ramallah conference has certainly made a valuable contribution to the established aims of EuroMeSCo, which are nurturing mutual understanding and respect, serving as a confidence-building measure within the Barcelona Process, and providing a forum for free discussion, analysis and the exchange of ideas.
9.00 - 10.30 OPENING SESSION and Welcome
Faisal Husseini, PLO Executive Committee Member, Jerusalem
HE Jose Filipe Morais Cabral, Ambassador of Portugal, Tel Aviv
Mahdi Abdul Hadi, PASSIA, Jerusalem
Alvaro de Vasconcelos, IEEI, Lisbon
11.00 - 12.30 PROGRESS TOWARDS POLITICAL COOPERATION AND THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN CHARTER
EuroMeSCo Working Groups' main findings
Chair: Rachid Driss, AEI, Tunis
Speaker: Roberto Aliboni, IAI, Rome
Rapporteur: Azzam Mahjoub,Tunis
13.00 - 14.30 LUNCH
14.30 - 15.30 THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSHIP AND THE MEPP: MUTUALLY REINFORCING PROCESSES?
Chair: Elvira Sanchez Mateos, CIDOB, Barcelona
Speaker: May Dubarry, IFRI, Paris
Comments: Mohammed Shtayyeh, Managing Director, Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR);
Mark Heller, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv;
Hassan Al-Barari, CSS, Amman
Rapporteur: Gamal Soltan, ACPSS, Cairo
16.00 - 18.00 PALESTINE IN TRANSITION: Lessons and experience
Roundtable of main political and NGO actors, including:
Chair: Mahdi Abdul Hadi, PASSIA, Jerusalem
Hani Al-Hassan, PLO Central Committee Member and responsible of the PLO External Affairs Department;
Hanan Ashrawi, Secretary General, The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (Miftah), Jerusalem;
Ghassan Khatib, Head, Jerusalem Media & Communication Center (JMCC), Jerusalem;
Mohammed Jadallah, Director, Jerusalem Center for Development, Jerusalem;
Izzat Abdul Hadi, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Ramallah
Rapporteur: Volker Perthes, SWP, Berlin
9.00 - 10.30 THE EMP AND EuroMeSCo's AGENDA: SETTING RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS
Roundtable Discussion
Chair: Stephen Calleya, MEDAC, Malta
Rapporteur: George Joffé, RIIA, London
11.00 - 12.30 CLOSING SESSION
Antonio Jorgef de Carvalho, Portuguese Representative to the Palestinian Authority (Portuguese Presidency of the European Union)
Patrick Laurent, EU Commission, Brussels
Gavin Evans, Acting Head of the European Commission Delegation, Jerusalem
Mahdi Abdul Hadi, PASSIA, Jerusalem
Alvaro de Vasconcelos, IEEI, Lisbon
12.30 LUNCH
14.00 EuroMeSCo General Assembly (Members ONLY)
Election of the Chairperson and Steering Committee; reports and accounts; admission of new members
Related Activities (members only):
15.30 Departure to Bethlehem, visit to Nativity Church and Manger Square
10.00 Departure from Ramallah
Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the Ramallah-Jerusalem area
Izzat Abdul Hadi
Bisan Center for Research and Development, Ramallah, Palestine
Mahdi Abdul Hadi
PASSIA – Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, Jerusalem, Palestine
Amine Ait-Chaalal
CERMAC - Centre d'Etude et de Recherches sur le Monde Arabe Contemporain, Brussels, Belgium
Roberto Aliboni
IAI - Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, Italy
Hanan Ashrawi
MIFTAH - The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, Jerusalem, Palestine
Ya’acov Bar Simon Tov
Leonard Davis Institute for International Affairs, Jerusalem, Israel
Hassan Al-Barari
CSS – Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, Amman
Fifi Benaboud
North-South Center, Lisbon, Portugal
John Bunzl
AIIA - Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Laxenburg, Austria
Stephen Calleya
MEDAC - Mediterranean Academic of Diplomatic Studies, Malta
May Chartouni-Dubarry
IFRI - Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Paris, France
Rita Cruz
IEEI - Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais, Lisbon, Portugal
Thanos Dokos
ELIAMEP - Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Athens, Greece
Rachid Driss
AEI - Association des Etudes Internationales, Tunis, Tunisia
Gavin Evans
Acting Head of the European Commission Delegation, Jerusalem
Hani Al-Hassan
PLO Central Committee Member and responsible of the PLO External Affairs Department, Palestine
Mark Heller
JCSS - The Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv, Israel
Anders Hellner
UI/SIIA - Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Stockholm, Sweden
Faisal Husseini
PLO Executive Committee Member, Jerusalem, Palestine
Justin Hutchence
CEMS - Center for Euro-Mediterranean Studies at the University of Reading, UK
Jerusalem Center for Development, Jerusalem, Palestine
George Joffé
RIIA - Royal Institute for International Affairs - Chatham House, London, UK
Ghassan Khatib
Head, Jerusalem Media & Communication Center (JMCC), Jerusalem, Palestine
Martin Kramer
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv, Israel
Hans H. J. Labohm
Clingendael - Netherlands Institute for International Relations, The Hague, Netherlands
Ghislain De Langre
FMES - Fondation Méditerranéenne d'Etudes Stratégiques, Toulon, France
Patrick Laurent
European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Azzam Mahjoub
University, Tunis, Tunisia
Felix Meier
MEDAC - Mediterranean Academic of Diplomatic Studies, Malta
Maria Do Rosario De Moraes Vaz
IEEI - Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais, Lisbon, Portugal
Jose Filippe Morais Cabral
Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal, Tel Aviv
Martin Ortega
WEU Institute for Security Studies, Paris, France
Paula Pereira
IEEI - Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais, Lisbon, Portugal
SWP - Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin, Germany
Elvira Sanchez Mateos
CIDOB - Centre d'Informació i Documentació a Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Abey Hailu Senbeta
IEIS - Institute for European and International Studies, Luxembourg
Mohammed Shtayyeh
Managing Director, Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR), Palestine
Gamal Soltan
Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Cairo, Egypt
Asher Susser
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv, Israel
Seyfi Tashan
FPI - Foreign Policy Institute, Ankara, Turkey
Alvaro De Vasconcelos
IEEI - Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais, Lisbon, Portugal
Anne Weyembergh
IEE - Institut d'Études Européennes, Brussels, Belgium
