EU nations and their Mediterranean neighbours have agreed on a code of conduct to combat terrorism - but they failed to define the term.
The code - announced after talks in Barcelona - condemns terrorism in all its forms and calls for an exchange of information about terrorist networks.
But disputes dogged the 35-nation Euro-Med conference.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a five-year work programme to revitalise the Euro-Med partnership.
Focus on terrorism
Critics say the absence of a definition of "terrorism" undercuts the power of any agreement, the BBC's Jonny Dymond reports from Barcelona.
But Mr Blair insisted that the spirit of the code of conduct was more important.
The Euro-Med meeting marked a decade of co-operation between the neighbouring countries.
It brought together the 25 EU members plus Turkey, Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Apart from Turkey and the Palestinian Authority, leaders from Arab and North African states, as well as Israel, were unable to attend the summit and sent lower-level delegations instead.
"We confirm that we will condemn terrorism in all its manifestations without qualification (and) reject any attempts to associate terrorism with any nature, culture or religion," said the two-page code of conduct.
"The threat that terrorism poses to the lives of our citizens remains serious and terrorist attacks seriously impair the enjoyment of human rights," the pact said. The delegations stressed their "determination to eradicate it".
However, they said, disagreements over the Middle East peace process forced the EU to drop a "Common Vision" statement on its ambitious plan to revamp relations with its southern neighbors by linking aid more directly to democratic, economic and political reforms.
The diplomats asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the summit talks.
In the two-page anti-terrorism code of conduct, the EU, Israel and its Arab neighbors reiterated their "total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it."
It said terrorism was a "global challenge" requiring international cooperation to stop the acts of terrorists and disrupt their networks.
The code was adopted after two days of fractious negotiations in which the EU and Israel sought to win Arab support for a statement saying terrorism can never be justified.
The talks almost collapsed as Arab delegates pushed for language that effectively said those "under foreign occupation" might legally resort to force to gain freedom.
Diplomats said this was resolved by removing a contentious section referring to the right to self-determination.
The code of conduct commits the EU, Israel and its neighbors to "prevent terrorists accessing money and weapons, to disrupt their plans and disrupt their networks and to bring them to justice by strengthening international cooperation."
It adds that the response to terrorism must be "proportionate and solidly anchored within international and domestic legal frameworks that ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms."
While British Prime Minister Tony Blair rescued the text, the summit he chaired failed to issue a lengthy "common vision" declaration on linking EU economic and other aid for Arab states to their economic and political reform efforts.
Arab nations have long resisted the EU reform push, and disagreement over the way forward in the Middle East peace process led Blair to drop the formal declaration altogether.
The EU is eager to change course in its Mediterranean policy that has doled out 20 billion euros ($23.5 billion) in grants and soft loans since 1995 but has failed to undo the region's poverty.
The summit faced problems from the start on Sunday, when only two Mediterranean leaders showed up Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Those of Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco were unable to attend.
The EU had high hopes for the summit that assessed a decade of economic outreach widely regarded as having failed to deliver results. In the future, it plans to link its aid to economic and political reforms in countries that shed their authoritarian ways. Its aim is to craft a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010.
Euromed summit backs terror pact
Monday 28
November 2005 1:39 PM GMT -
http://english.aljazeera.net
European Union leaders have agreed on a code of conduct on fighting terrorism with their mostly Muslim southern neighbours, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says.
"This is a very important moment both for the European countries and for our other colleagues round the table," Blair told reporters on Monday at the end of a two-day Euro-Mediterranean summit in Barcelona.
"It's as strong a statement as you could possibly have on a
unified determination to fight terrorism in all its forms," he added.
Agreement on the anti-terror pact had been held up notably by Arab states'
insistence on wording giving legitimacy to resistance movements fighting against
occupation.
Arab insistence
Arab delegates sought to add a qualification, proposing text that said nothing in the anti-terrorism code contradicts "the right of peoples under foreign occupation to strive to end it in accordance with international law".
The EU and Israel objected, saying that terrorism can never be
justified. Diplomats worked into the night of Sunday and into Monday. When the
leaders returned for a second day of talks early on Monday, there was still no
agreement.
The 25-nation EU, meeting with 10 Mediterranean-rim and Mideast neighbours to
mark the 10th anniversary of the so-called Euromed partnership, also agreed on a
five-year work plan, the EU source said.
But sources said a planned joint declaration was to be replaced by a statement
issued by the summit's joint British and Spanish chairmanship.
Summit participants had originally planned to issue a declaration of their common vision on the need for economic and political reforms in nations on the Mediterranean's eastern and southern rims. The countries have received 20 billion euros ($23.5 billion) in grants and soft loans from the EU since 1995 but remain mired in poverty.
Absentees
Leaders from Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco stayed away from the summit, with reasons ranging from a medical problem for Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to political unrest at home for Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak.
The EU had high hopes for the summit, which assessed a decade of economic outreach that is widely regarded as having failed to deliver results.
In the years ahead, the EU plans to link its aid to economic and political reforms in countries that shed their authoritarian ways. Its aim remains, however, to craft a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone by 2010.
El Pais Spain | JAMES BADCOCK
Barcelona
The Euromediterranean Summit, being held in Barcelona to mark the tenth anniversary of the partnership between the European Union and southern Mediterranean nations, was in danger Sunday of becoming a one-way dialogue following the withdrawal of several Arab heads of state ahead of today's closing session.
Current EU president, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, nevertheless made a firm defense yesterday of European foreign policy, citing the recent agreement with Israel and Palestine over the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt as evidence of Europe's effectiveness.
Speaking after a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso, Blair congratulated all parties on the Rafah agreements, saying it was "part of a process agreed with by the overwhelming majority of the international community." Noting that peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a "strategic objective" of the EU, Blair said the border opening was a "step toward a two-state solution."
Durão Barroso went further, claiming that the Rafah deal, under which European forces will guarantee security at the crossing, was an "historic achievement for the EU." Palestinian President Abbas thanked both the EU and US for help in the negotiations, recognizing that it was now the Palestinian Authority's "duty to achieve stability" in the region.
But the Middle East conflict has already cast a huge shadow over the summit, and jeopardized a proposed deal on anti-terrorist cooperation. Arab diplomats have urged that the right to resist occupation be recognized - a clear reference to Israel and the Palestinian territories - while the official EU line stipulates that terrorist attacks cannot ever be justified.
Even when it had a "sense of injustice" as its source, Blair insisted that it "was not a root to
solution, but an obstacle to it." He praised Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's Alliance of Civilizations as proof that the EU has a "political role in bringing together Europe and the Muslim world."
Many Arab leaders are nevertheless staying away from Barcelona. The latest casualty was Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who on Saturday night was taken to Paris for tests after experiencing gastric problems. Bouteflika's absence added to that of Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah of Jordan, Bashar al-Assad and Moroccan King Mohammed VI, besides Israel's Ariel Sharon. The attendance of Tunisian President Ben Ali was described by summit organizers as "highly doubtful."Sunday saw Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero busily shoring up support for the summit's final declaration in a series of bilateral meetings with fellow European heads of state, hours after overseeing the launch of his UN-backed Alliance of Civilizations initiative, which held its first high-level meeting of 20 experts in Palma, Majorca, yesterday (see story this page).
Last week in Congress, Zapatero had said that that today's final declaration and the five-year Euromed action plan "will confirm and deepen the political and economic commitments laid down in the 1995 declaration."
The main aims of the Barcelona summit are to extend agreement between the EU, its candidate countries, and the nine southern Mediterranean affiliates in the fields of security and immigration, following a decade of efforts to bolster economic and cultural cooperation initiated by the so-called Barcelona Process. Libya and Mauritania are also in attendance as observers of the Euromed project.
But with intra-regional trade in the southern Mediterranean region at just 15 percent of GDP, the lowest such rate in any comparable bloc of neighboring countries according to the European Commission, the no-show of so many Arab leaders is doubly disappointing.
The original Barcelona declaration called for a free-trade area encompassing the EU countries and the southern Mediterranean bloc, though progress so far has largely been made on a bilateral basis - such as the partnership accords with Morocco and Egypt, due to guarantee free trade by 2010. King Mohammed VI was yesterday on an official visit to Japan, leaving his prime minister, Driss Jettou, to represent Morocco at the Euromed summit.
Under the EU's MEDA development fund to the southern region, €11.75 billion has been invested since 1995, besides a further €11 billion in European Investment Bank loans.
On Saturday, the EU also announced it would be setting up a new program to boost freedom of expression and the media across the southern Mediterranean. Part of the plan is to create "lobbies" of journalists from both shores to act as watchdogs on the freedom of the press and audiovisual media in the region.
Outside the heavily-guarded Forum complex, meanwhile, up to 1,000 demonstrators took to the surrounding streets in the Catalan capital to protest against the meeting's objectives. Carrying banners which read "No to a Mediterranean of capital and war," the protesters were critical of what they consider the neoliberal slant of EU policies in the region. "They are perpetuating current injustices, such as the wall of shame in Palestine or those in Ceuta and Melilla; injustices which generate more violence," one of the demonstration's organizers said. "Over the last 10 years, the social and economic situation has deteriorated considerably, and we hope that we don't have to meet up here again in 10 years' time with an even worse situation," she added.
http://www.elpais.es
© 2005 El Pais
EU, Muslim Countries Agree to Cooperate on Terrorism
- Voice of America
www.voanews.com
Rome
28 November 2005
European Union countries and their Mediterranean neighbors agreed on a code of conduct to combat terrorism at the first Euro-Mediterranean summit in Barcelona. But at the end of two days of talks, the 35 nations failed to agree on a common definition of terrorism.
The 35 nations attending the first Euro-Mediterranean conference in Barcelona condemned terrorism in all its forms and called for an exchange of information about terrorist networks. But after two days of talks, they failed to agree on what terrorism actually is.
EU leaders had wanted the summit to state that self-determination is no justification for terrorism, while Arab delegates had insisted on recognizing the right to resist occupation.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said most Arab states are unwilling to condemn violence by Palestinian or Lebanese militants against Israel.
Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, said that the summit has produced positive results, but objective difficulties remain.
The final compromise omitted both the EU's insistence that self-determination could not be used to justify terrorism and Arab demands to include a right to resist foreign occupation.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who co-chaired the conference with Spain, announced a five-year work program to revitalize the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
Members of the partnership reaffirmed their aim to create a free trade area by 2010. They also committed the EU to progressively open its markets to agricultural produce and services from Mediterranean countries.
Almost all EU leaders attended the summit but only two Mediterranean partners: Turkey and the Palestinian Authority. Most Middle Eastern and North African countries said their leaders were either detained by domestic matters or too sick to attend and sent lower-level delegations to the summit.
Mr. Blair conceded that it was not ideal to have held the summit without heads of state from all the Muslim Euro-Mediterranean nations, but, he said that there were good reasons for the no-shows.
By Renwick McLean International Herald Tribune
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2005
BARCELONA In a sign of the discord that has plagued a summit meeting of European, Israeli and Arab leaders since it began, the participants at the talks were unable on Monday to agree on a final communiqué.
As the meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Summit drew to a close, the leaders announced agreements to condemn terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations" and to cooperate on controlling illegal immigration.
European Union leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to promoting democratic reform, economic development and educational opportunities in the Arab world, but without offering specifics on how much money they were willing to provide.
The absence of many of the top leaders of the non-European countries raised questions among some delegates about the significance of the agreements announced on Monday.
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, chairman of the meeting, said that despite disagreements on regional issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the delegates had taken an important step toward establishing an international consensus on terrorism.
"I think it's as strong a statement as you can have on unification in the fight against terrorism," he said at the closing press conference. "We state very clearly that terrorism can never be justified."
Agreement on the terrorism statement, which includes pledges to cooperate in areas such as intelligence-gathering, was in doubt until the closing stages of the meeting. According to European diplomats, Syria and Algeria had been pressing for language that would distinguish terrorism from what they called legitimate resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The Syrians and Algerians appeared to have softened their demands. The final statement says: "We reiterate our total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it and to combat its sponsors."
But the statement does include a vague reference to the need to "end occupation" as part of a comprehensive strategy for fighting terrorism, without mentioning the Palestinians or Israelis. "To stop terrorism, we need to address all its causes," the statement concludes.
The declaration made no attempt to define terrorism, a point that European leaders said should not detract from its importance. "Sometimes communication in these statements is important in terms of words, and sometimes it is also important to look at the spirit," Blair said. The statement makes it clear, he continued, that "people are united in their condemnation of killing innocent people through terrorism."
Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain expressed a similar view. "It's quite evident what terrorism means: killing the innocent," he said.
None of the leaders of Israel or the Muslim countries appeared at the final press conference. The meeting was an effort to energize an EU initiative known as the Barcelona process, which was established 10 years ago with the goal of helping to spread democracy and aid economies in the Muslim countries along the Mediterranean's southern rim.
The process has been widely described as a disappointment so far, leading European leaders to try to reinvigorate it with a high level meeting here that would bring together heads of state and government from all members of the European Union and a dozen other countries in Middle East and North Africa. But European hopes were dented by last-minute decisions by the top leaders of several Arab nations, such as Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt, to send lower-level surrogates instead.
Euro and Arab summit fails to define
terrorism
(Filed: 28/11/2005)
www.telegraph.co.uk
The European Union, Arab nations and Israel have endorsed an anti-terrorism code of conduct, but failed to agree on a definition of terrorism.
The Euro-Mediterranean Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism was issued after leaders of 35 EU, north African and Middle Eastern nations smoothed over divisions that emerged during the two-day summit.
Tony Blair, who hosted the summit, said:"The fact that we got the practical agreement on the code of conduct from everybody is a very significant step forward indeed.
"It's as strong a statement as you can possible have on the unified determination to fight terrorism is all its forms."
In their two-page anti-terrorism code, the Euro-Mediterranean partners reiterated their "total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it".
It said terrorism was a "global challenge" requiring international cooperation to stop the acts of terrorists and disrupt their networks.
At the summit, the EU and Israel attempted win Arab support for the code arguing that terrorism can never be justified.
The talks almost collapsed when Arab delegates pushed for language that effectively said those living "under foreign occupation" might legally resort to force to gain freedom - a reference to Israeli rule over parts of the West Bank.
The row was resolved by removing a contentious section dealing with the right to self-determination and the fact that "terrorist attacks cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance".
Mr Blair played down the failure to reach an agreement on the definition of terrorism.
"If you look at this code of conduct, we are making it quite clear that people are united in their total condemnation of killing innocent civilians by terrorism," he said.
Israel, Arabs Back Anti-Terror Code
Monday November 28, 2005
5:16 PM
www.guardian.co.uk
By ROBERT WIELAARD
Associated Press Writer
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Europe, Israel and its Arab neighbors endorsed an anti-terrorism code of conduct Monday after a fractious two-day summit, overcoming Arab insistence on language allowing for such violence by those ``under foreign occupation.''
Also, deep divisions between Israel and Arab states over the Middle East peace process led Britain to drop its ``Common Vision'' campaign to more directly link EU aid to the Arab world to the region's democratic and economic reforms.
Still, participants praised the anti-terrorism code, which reiterates the ``total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it.'' It also declares terrorism is a ``global challenge'' requiring international cooperation to stop.
``The fact that we got the practical agreement on the code of conduct from everybody is a very significant step forward indeed,'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the summit host, told a news conference.
The European Union and Israel struggled to win Arab support for language in the code stating that terrorism can never be justified. Arab delegates had pressed for wording that those living ``under foreign occupation'' might legally resort to force to gain freedom - a veiled reference to Israeli rule in the West Bank that could also apply to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
Delegates resolved the dispute by removing a section from the code dealing with the right to self-determination and the fact that ``terrorist attacks cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance.''
The summit faced problems from the start Sunday, when only two Mediterranean leaders showed up: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco sent delegates.
After the meeting, Blair appeared at a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, his summit co-host, and senior EU officials but not one Mideast representative.
Laughing nervously, Blair conceded that it was not ideal to have held the summit without heads of state from all nine Muslim Euro-Mediterranean nations. He added that there were good reasons for the no-shows and that all delegates were senior ministers.
Though there was no formal ``Common Vision'' declaration on future relations, Blair said the EU will stick with plans to link aid programs to economic and political reform in the Arab world. The EU goal remains the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010.
The anti-terrorism code of conduct commits the EU, Israel and its Arab neighbors to ``prevent terrorists accessing money and weapons, to disrupt their plans and disrupt their networks and to bring them to justice by strengthening international cooperation.''
The response to terrorism must be ``proportionate and solidly anchored within international and domestic legal frameworks that ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,'' it also says.
One practical effect of the code's adoption will be more law-enforcement cooperation across the Euro-Mediterranean area.
BARCELONA -- Europe, Israel, and its Arab neighbors endorsed an antiterrorism code of conduct yesterday after a fractious two-day summit, overcoming Arab insistence on language allowing for such violence by those ''under foreign occupation."
Also, deep divisions between Israel and Arab states over the Middle East peace process led Britain to drop its ''Common Vision" campaign to more directly link EU aid to the Arab world to the region's democratic and economic reforms.
Still, participants praised the antiterrorism code, which reiterates the ''total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it." It also declares terrorism is a ''global challenge" requiring international cooperation to stop.
''The fact that we got the practical agreement on the code of conduct from everybody is a very significant step forward indeed," British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the summit host, told a news conference.
The European Union and Israel struggled to win Arab support for language in the code stating that terrorism can never be justified. Arab delegates had pressed for wording that those living ''under foreign occupation" might legally resort to force to gain freedom -- a veiled reference to Israeli rule in the West Bank that could also apply to the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Delegates resolved the dispute by removing a section from the code dealing with the right to self-determination and the fact that ''terrorist attacks cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance."
The summit faced problems from the start Sunday, when only two Mediterranean leaders showed up: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco sent delegates.
After the meeting, Blair appeared at a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, his summit cohost, and senior EU officials but not one Mideast representative.
Laughing nervously, Blair conceded that it was not ideal to have held the summit without heads of state from all nine Muslim Euro-Mediterranean nations. He added that there were good reasons for the no-shows and that all delegates were senior ministers.
The antiterrorism code of conduct commits the EU, Israel, and its Arab neighbors to ''prevent terrorists accessing money and weapons, to disrupt their plans and disrupt their networks and to bring them to justice by strengthening international cooperation."
The response to terrorism must be ''proportionate and solidly anchored within international and domestic legal frameworks that ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms," it also says.
29/11/2005 EurActiv, FT - 29/11/05; EU, AFP, AP, Reuters, BBC,
VOA, EUpolitix, EU Observer
At the end of a two-day summit in Barcelona, EU nations and their southern
Mediterranean neighbours reached a compromise Monday (28 November) on a joint
code of conduct to counter terrorism. They failed, however, to agree on a
definition of the term. The move is expected to bring about better co-operation
in the area of law enforcement across the Euro-Mediterranean region.
"The fact that we got the practical agreement on the code of conduct from everybody is a very significant step forward indeed," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who co-chaired the summit with Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "I think this is very important both for the European countries, but also for our other colleagues around the table. It's as strong a statement as you can possibly have on the unified determination to fight terrorism in all its forms."
The meeting was attended by top leaders from the EU, as well as by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country launched accession talks with the bloc last month. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also participated. However, most of the countries from the southern Mediterranean shore -- including Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia -- were represented by lower-level delegations.
The code adopted Monday denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with member nations vowing to work for its eradication.
"The threat that terrorism poses to the lives of our citizens remains serious and terrorist attacks seriously impair the enjoyment of human rights," reads the two-page document. "We remain determined to strengthen co-operation and co-ordination to respond to this global challenge. Today, we reiterate our total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it and to combat its sponsors."
The participants also confirmed their commitment to "implement in full all Security Council resolutions addressing the issue of terrorism," to try to ratify and implement all relevant UN anti-terrorism conventions and to co-operate with UN bodies dealing with the issue.
They also pledged to "exchange information on a voluntary basis on terrorists and their support networks" and to work bilaterally "to develop our effective and operational co-operation to disrupt networks and bring individuals involved in terrorist acts to justice".
The code was approved only after reaching a compromise. The EU agreed to cut text declaring that the right to self-determination does not justify acts of violence. The Arab delegates, meanwhile, agreed to drop their demand for language legitimising the use of force to resist foreign military occupation.
"Terrorism can never be justified," the final document reads. "If we are to succeed in the long term in enabling international institutions, governments to stop terrorism we need to address all its causes ... We will continue to do all we can to resolve conflict, end occupation, confront oppression, reduce poverty, promote good governance and human right, improve intercultural understanding and ensure respect for all religions. Such actions serve directly the interests of the people of the EuroMed region and work against the interests of the terrorists and their networks."
Following acrimonious negotiations, the EU has concluded a last-minute agreement with Israel and its Arab neighbours on a joint code of conduct to fight terrorism.
Identifying terrorism as a "global challenge", the code of conduct commits the signatories to "prevent terrorists accessing money and weapons, to disrupt their plans and disrupt their networks and to bring them to justice by strengthening international co-operation". According to CNN and other news sources, the document, which was adopted after heated rounds of negotiation, states that response to terrorism must be "proportionate and solidly anchored within international and domestic legal frameworks that ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms".
Earlier, Arab delegates wanted the document to state that nothing in the anti-terrorism code contradicts the "right of peoples under foreign occupation to strive to end it in accordance with international law". However, the EU and Israel objected, arguing that terrorism can never be justified.
The summit was attended by top leaders from the EU but most Arab leaders stayed away. It also adopted a five-year work programme for the ten-year-old Euro-Mediterranean co-operation framework.
Euro-Mediterranean summit fails in attempt to define
terrorism - The Spain Herald
www.spainherald.com
November 29, 2005
The Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean summit ended yesterday without any fundamental
agreement on the definition of terrorism. Arab delegations maintained their
demand to exclude "resistance to foreign occupation" from any definition of
terrorism. Two annexes were added to the summit's official declaration, the
incomplete anti-terrorist code of conduct and a plan of action for the next five
years.
Barcelona summit begins with important absences - The
Spain Herald - November 28, 2005
www.spainherald.com
Spanish prime minister Rodríguez Zapatero, in his speech before the
Euro-Mediterranean summit being held in Barcelona, asked that no hasty
judgements be made on the summit, and said that he would "work with all
governments, and there will be positive results." Zapatero expressed his respect
for those leaders who did not attend the summit, including the presidents of
Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia, and US secretary of
state Condoleezza Rice.
The rotating presidency of the Council of Europe, currently in the hands of the UK, unsuccessfully tried to arrive at a consensus definition of terrorism. The Arab countries wanted to differentiate terrorism from "the right to resistance," which Israel would not accept.
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