AMMAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- As the European Union's top diplomat wrapped up her tour to a number of countries in the Middle East this week, EU's diplomatic strategy toward this currently restive region became much clear than ever.
Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, paid an intensive visit to Tunisia and a number of countries in the region, including Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Jordan from Feb. 14 to Feb. 16. She will begin another two-day visit to Egypt Monday to have talks with members of the transitional government and political party leaders.
These visits have delivered a strong message that the European Union, which has kept long-time political and economic ties with Arab countries due to geopolitical and historical factors, is increasing its efforts to consolidate relations with these countries and expand traditional influences in the Arab world.
Among those efforts, the most important ones include more financial aid and trade cooperation, such as supporting economic reforms, helping improve education and living conditions of people and safeguarding security and stability in these countries.
After her visit to Tunisia, Ashton told a press conference that the EU will extend 258 million euros (about 348 million U.S. dollars) in aid to Tunisia by 2013 and 17 million euros immediately to help the country's interim government to cope with mounting social and economic tensions in the wake of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ouster last month.
The EU has also opened discussions with the European Investment Bank to mobilize up to 1 billion euros of finance this year to help small and medium-sized businesses and to boost transport infrastructure, from which Tunisia is the first to benefit, said Ashton.
Ashton also said the EU would help Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi host an international conference on political and economic reforms next month.
Speaking to the Financial Times during her visit, Ashton confirmed that the EU will provide at least 2.5 billion euros of aid to North African countries including Tunisia and Egypt to help with their economic reforms.
Ashton's visit comes not only in the context of two political earthquakes in Tunisia and Egypt, which have shaken up the region, it also comes a few days after the first meeting of the Middle East Quartet of the year, which groups the EU, the United States, Russia and the United Nations. At the Munich talks, the Quartet called on all parties to undertake urgent efforts to speed up Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying it was "imperative due to the political turmoil in the region."
During her regional tour, Ashton met with most important figures in the Middle East peace process including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, her Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Premier Salam Fayyad, and Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The EU official expressed hope for the restart of the failed talks to achieve a peace deal and a Palestinian Authority state by September despite turmoil in the Middle East.
According to a statement released by Jordan's royal court after Ashton's meeting with King Abdullah II, the EU and Jordan agree that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two- state solution will help bring sustainable peace and security in the Middle East.
"The peace process now more than ever needs to move forward because ensuring stability and security for the people of Israel and Palestinians is a very important ambition. It is an important ambition that needs to be realized as quickly as possible," Ashton told a joint press conference with her Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh in Amman, adding that the EU will exert all efforts needed to ensure that direct peace negotiations are resumed as soon as possible.
Despite all these efforts, the EU still needs some time to prove the real influences it expects to have in the region.
Given the current situation in the Middle East countries, the success of economic and financial aid policies depend on stable governments and a favorable investment environment. Meanwhile, governments of the aid-receiving countries have different opinions on the amount and schedule of the aid. One high-ranking official from the Tunisian interim government accused the amount of aid provided by Europe as "ridiculous," adding that Brussels is not ready enough to help.
Israel, on the other hand, is reluctant to respond to the EU's strong appeal to return to peace deal by September. At the meeting with Ashton on Feb. 15, Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman urged the EU to confront the "problem of Iran" before tackling the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which he said is hindered by Iran's nuclear program.
Analysts are also not optimistic about future peace talks. Experts said the collapse of the Egyptian regime is likely to make Israel more self-centered and become a "fortress" which seeks its own security above all issues, a matter that they said will cause a further impasse in the peace process.
"I think that the peace process will face more difficulties in the near future. Israel will become fortress ... and that will negatively affect the peace talks and the peace process," political analyst Mohammad Au Rumman said in Amman.
Editor: Mu Xuequan |
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This gives you a good insight into how Europe is making ties with the Arab world. Did you notice the amount of money it is handing out, and that is probably only for starters.
The Arab world will contunue to break away from its decades of dictatorships and move into a free democratic system, which in time will have them hooking up arm in arm with each other (a good portion of each other) and they will form a united federation, for they will see that there is strength in forming a "block" of united Arab nations. And it could well be they and Europe will have a good economic and trading union for a time (either short or long as in humans years and terms) . Eventually, as we are told in Daniel 11:40-45, this "king of the south" will "push at" this "king of the north" and whatever that may be, will be so serious a matter, the king of the north will declare war on the king of the south. The Beast/Babylon Europe will win the day, and spear-headed Egypt Arab union will be smashed.
We shall have then come to the last 42 months of this age. The Europe Beast will march into the Holy Land and there will be a time of trouble on earth such as never was and never will be again. Other prophecies show the "kings of the East" will not be sitting by either, they will come and take control of some of the Arab nations in the Middle East. You will have then a Europe Beast power and an "Eastern" power facing each other in the central part of the world - Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
Prophecy is marching on, it is all taking shape right before your eyes, as God foretold in all the prophetic books of the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation.
Keep your eyes on Europe, the Roman Catholic church, and the Arab nations of the Middle East.
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