The six actions proposed by the European Union in Gaza

(excerpt from an article published in Europolitics) At the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union, the 27 decided and proposed six actions to the parties to the conflict:
- strengthening immediate emergency humanitarian aid, in particular for the UN Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) and other international agencies;
- support for the rehabilitation, reconstruction, economic recovery and future economic development of Gaza;
- the reactivation of EU border assistance at the Rafah border point (EU BAM Rafah), “as soon as conditions permit”;
- the “possibility” of extending this assistance to other crossing points (implied, operated by Israel) in the region;
- the prevention of the illicit trade and trafficking in arms and ammunition, with the commitment to “find ways to collaborate” with the efforts of the United States;
- support for the resumption of the peace process. Javier Solana left on Monday for a new three-day tour of the Middle East. He is expected to meet President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), King Abdullah II (Jordan), President Mahoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (Palestinian Authority); Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his head of diplomacy Tzipi Livni (Israel), as well as the new American special envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell. Objective, among others: to find an agreement to quickly reopen EUBAM Rafah (cf. accelerated development plan).