Europe for elevating the status of PLO at the UN

France has announced that the European Union EU member states agree to the principle of upgrading the position of the PLO at the UN but not to give it the privileges of a UN member state.

Spokeswoman for the French Foreign ministry said the EU presidency held a new coordination step between the EU and the Arab states to discuss the proposal providing for strengthening the position of the PLO delegation at the UN, which the Arab states will submit to the UN General Assembly during its meeting next week. "In essence, given the PLO's key role in the peace process and within the Palestinian Authority, the Fifteen agree with the principle of reinforcing their status at the United Nations," she said.

Meanwhile, France has made it clear that expanding Israeli powers in Holy Jerusalem is a violation of international law. Any unilateral attempt made to change conditions of the occupied Arab territories runs counter to provisions of concluded agreements, said the French spokeswoman. She added in a statement on Tuesday in Paris, "There is a British text that qualifies the Israelis' decisions as being a serious development which does not help the peace process."

She continued that the foreign ministers of the EU 15 member states expressed during their meeting on Monday in Luxembourg deep concern over Israeli's plans targeting to enlarge the municipality of Jerusalem and to making demographic changes. "Such unilateral measures further complicate the peace process," the French spokeswoman concluded.