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Mediterranean

Meeting of the Socialist International Mediterranean Committee, Rome

06-07 March 1998

The SI Mediterranean Committee convened in Rome on 6-7 March at a meeting hosted by the Democratic Party of the Left, PDS and was chaired by Raimon Obiols, Spanish Socialist Workers Party, PSOE. Participants from some fifteen countries from the Mediterranean region attended.

The Committee continued its discussions on the Euro-Mediterranean relationship and agreed a resolution which reaffirmed its commitment to the association agreements and called for their ratification and a relaunching of the process agreed at the 1995 Barcelona Conference. The Committee underlined the commitment of all SI-member parties in the region to the partnership and reiterated that this process should be implemented in its entirety, so respecting its three essential components: the political and security, the economic and social, and the cultural cooperation aspects.

In its resolution, the Committee also expressed its concern at the tragedy of the Algerian people and stated its hopes for a dialogue to be established between those forces which reject and unreservedly condemn violence and terrorism. The Committee also considered the new political phase in Morocco and issued a motion of support to the USFP and the Moroccan democratic forces, which congratulated SI-member Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, on forming the new government. The Committee extended its best wishes to the new prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, leader of the USFP.


 

  RESOLUTION ON THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSHIP

Original: French

The Socialist International Mediterranean Committee, meeting in Rome on 6-7 March 1998, reaffirms, as stated at its meeting in Tangier in March 1997, that "the establishment and maintenance of conditions of peace, security and prosperity on the northern shores of the Mediterranean are more than ever linked to the promotion of economic and social developments in countries to the south and east of the Mediterranean". In this context, the Committee expresses its concern over the present impasse affecting the peace process in the Middle East. At the same time, the Committee expresses its concern at the tragedy of the Algerian people and hopes that a dialogue will be established between those forces which reject and unreservedly condemn violence and terrorism. In the hope that these difficulties can be overcome as soon as possible, the Committee:

1. underlines the commitment of all our parties on the two shores of the Mediterranean to this partnership, and counts on the engagement of all the member states of the European Union (EU) to contribute to its strengthening;

2. calls for the relaunching of the process agreed at the Barcelona Conference in November 1995 and urges all the governments of the EU and of the Mediterranean Partner Countries to make every effort to ensure that the mid-term Conference to be held on 3-4 June in Palermo, is an effective and concrete occasion to relaunch Euro-Mediterranean cooperation;

3. reiterates that this process should be implemented in its entirety, respecting its three essential components, that is, the political and security, the economic and social, and the cultural cooperation aspects;

4. calls for reflection, aimed at enabling this partnership to meet the 1999 deadline, notably in relation to the following points:

    - EU enlargement and its relations with the countries of central and eastern Europe is not in contradiction to the development of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. New balances and new synergies should be sought in this context.

    - The construction of this Euro-Mediterranean concept should not entail giving priority to free trade and the market. The notion of cooperation must be replaced by one of true co- development which also takes on board macro-economic policies, starting with the rescheduling of the Mediterranean Partner Countries public debt, and the promotion of direct investments in these countries.

    - The economic and social aspects should be integrated, starting with the affirmation of fundamental social and civil rights;

    - Economic complementarity and integration should be pursued in order to overcome all current competitiveness, mainly within the Mediterranean Basin.

    - Greater weight must be given to regional and sub-regional partnership activities, and greater financial resources should be devoted to this end.


5. underlines the importance of the democratic and parliamentary dimension of the Mediterranean partnership and the holding of the next Euro-Mediterranean Forum without delay;

6 appeals to the parliaments of all concerned states to accept the invitation extended to them to participate in the next preparatory meeting scheduled in Valetta;

7. requests that this meeting set up the necessary modalities for the organisation of the next Forum in the shortest possible time;

8. requests the parliaments of the EU member states to proceed without delay to the ratification of the association agreements already signed with the countries of the south shore of the Mediterranean and expresses its hope that the negotiations with Egypt and Lebanon are concluded before the Palermo conference.


 

Motion of support to the USFP and the Moroccan democratic forces

Original: French

The Socialist International Mediterranean Committee, meeting in Rome on 6-7 March 1998, having welcomed with satisfaction the appointment by King Hassan II of Abderrahmane Youssoufi, First Secretary of the USFP, as Prime Minister in accordance with the Moroccan constitution, and having heard the report by the USFP representative and the debates which followed,

1. congratulates the USFP and its First Secretary A. Youssoufi, on their long struggle for democracy and social justice in Morocco and on the results obtained in the recent elections;

2. notes favourably the positive progress which has been made in the political scene in Morocco with regard to the democratic transition in that country;

3. extends its best wishes for the success and the implementation of regular elections in such a way as to respond to the aspirations and needs of the Moroccan people;

4. lends its full support to the steps undertaken by A. Youssoufi and, through him, by the USFP and the democratic forces in Morocco.


LIST OF PARTICIPANTS


Chair of the Committee

Raimon Obiols
(Spain, PSOE)


Secretary General of the SI

Luis Ayala


ALGERIA
Socialist Forces Front, FFS

Ahmed Djeddaï
Hakim Bouagache


AUSTRIA
Social Democratic Party of Austria, SPÖ

Albrecht K. Konecny


BELGIUM
Socialist Party, PS

Etienne Godin


FRANCE
Socialist Party, PS

Alain Chenal
Philip Cordery


GERMANY
Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD

Wolfgang Weege


GREECE
Panhellenic Socialist Movement, PASOK

Paraskevas Avgerinos
Thanasis Ganotis
Vassilis Konstantineas
Ilias Natsios


ISRAEL
Israel Labour Party

Israel Gat


ISRAEL
United Workers' Party of Israel, MAPAM

Monica Pollack
Eran Harduf


ITALY
Democratic Party of the Left, PDS

Umberto Ranieri
Achille Occhetto
Piero Fassino
Rino Serri
Pasqualina Napoletano
Marco Pezzoni
Nicola Zingaretti
Gianfranco Brusasco
Francesca Marinaro
Marisa Rodano


ITALY
Italian Socialists, SI

Roberto Villetti
Luca Cefisi
Gerardo Labellarte


MALTA
Malta Labour Party

Michael Falzon
Louis Gatt


MOROCCO
Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP

Abdelhamid Ben Elcadi


PORTUGAL
Socialist Party, PS

Maria Carrilho

SAN MARINO
San Marino Socialist Party, PSS

Maurizio Rattini
Augusto Casali


SPAIN
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, PSOE

Montserrat Reyes
Enrique Barón
Anna Terrón
Ricard Torrell
María Irigoyen


SWEDEN
Swedish Social Democratic Party, SAP

Urban Ahlin


TERRITORIES UNDER PALESTINIAN
AUTHORITIES
Fatah

Ilan Halevi


TUNISIA
Constitutional Democratic Assembly, RCD

Saïd Naceur Ramadhane
Abdessalem Hatira


TURKEY
Social Democratic People's Party, CHP

Altan Öymen
Sule Bucak

Office of SI President
Michel Thauvin


Socialist International Women, SIW
Nouzha Chekrouni

Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists
Luigi Colajanni
Yiannis Roubatis
Jannis Sakellariou
Teresa Moleres
David Harley


International Union of Socialist Youth, IUSY
Umberto Gentiloni
Biolcati Rinaldi

SI Secretariat
Latifa Perry

 



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