EU urged to punch its weight in Middle East

[Classical_Liberal]

EU urged to punch its weight in Middle East


Israeli and Palestinian moderates are urging the EU to make its voice heard at a meeting of the Middle East ‘quartet’ in New York on Tuesday.

The EU – led by Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen – will gather with the US, UN and Russia to forge a strategy to revive the faltering ‘road map’ for peace in the Middle East.

In an interview with EUpolitix, Yasser Abed Rabbo, former Palestinian Justice Minister and Avraham Burg, former speaker of Israeli Parliament the Knesset, appealed to the EU to stay its course against US unilateralism in the region.

“Europe is less weak than Europe wants to pretend it is. If Bush needs European support now in Iraq, he should be giving American support now to the European position in the Middle East,” said Burg.

http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200405/d38006d6-048d-49f1-94c3-95518913085b.htm

[Violet_Crumble]

1. How powerful is the EU now?

Europe is less weak than Europe wants to pretend it is.

And on the other side of the coin, the US is less powerful than the US wants to pretend it is. So, is Europe in a position now to throw its weight around, or is that something that will come further down the track as the US Empire noticeably crumbles and another power will step into the void?

Violet...