European council should propose privileged partnership to Maghreb, European MP says
Member of the European Parliament, Alain Lamassoure, urged the European council to adopt a declaration proposing a privileged partnership to the countries of the Maghreb (North Africa).
In a story published Thursday by French Le Monde daily, Lamassoure, a former French minister, stated that the European Council, which is initiating a reform of its institutions in view of the increase of the number of its members, should define its doctrine on the enlargement and on the external borders of the European Union.
The council, he said, should adopt a declaration proposing a privileged partnership to the union's neighbors, taking into account history and shared interests.
Russia, Turkey, the Middle East, the Maghreb are key partners and the Union should actively back their progress towards democracy as it should associate them to all issues of mutual interest, the European MP wrote.
"Our hope is that these countries become poles of peace and human rights in their respective geographical and cultural space while respecting national and/or ethnic identities," Lamassoure stated.
He referred in this respect to the European Union's experience, saying the European construction enabled it to gather sovereign states in an unprecedented federation formula. He added that what has been achieved between the French and the Germans is an extraordinary message of hope to the rest of the world. This means that reconciliation is possible between Israelis and Palestinians, Indians and Pakistanis or between the peoples of the Maghreb, he said.
