Iran’s rights charter (subjected to Cairo Declaration) to facilitate talks with EU.

http://www.oic-oci.org/english/article/human.htm

Iran’s rights charter (subjected on the Cairo Declaration) to facilitate talks with EU. (IFPnews).

Citizens’ rights charter of Iran, currently being developed, will boost the country’s negotiation power as it is going to sit for human rights talks with the European Union, Elham Aminzadeh, President Hassan Rouhani’s assistant on citizenship rights, said.

“This is because the charter is very comprehensive and includes diverse topics, even the rights of foreign nationals in Iran and Iranian nationals overseas,” she told Trend November 6.

The charter will be published in a matter of days, according to Aminzadeh.

Iran and the EU will sit together in Brussels on November 9 for the first time since the conclusion of the nuclear deal to exchange ideas on human rights, one major sticking point in bilateral ties.


The human rights debate has increasingly emerged as an important component for stronger ties between the two sides. Hmmm.....Apparently the EU parliamentarians have no clue at all that in Islamic countries human rights are subjected to shariah law. Read the full story here.

Video - EU Commissioner Says Turkey must comply with European values such as rule of law as a candidate country.

EU Commissioner @JHahnEU says #Turkey must comply with European values such as rule of law as a candidate country. pic.twitter.com/spRcg3LMjf

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) September 9, 2016

If looks could kill.

TENSE MOMENTS: @JHahnEU & @FedericaMog fire back at #Turkey FM Çavuşoğlu on EU weaknesses in joint presser pic.twitter.com/wAVwVxDq8K

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) September 9, 2016

Iranian Official Denies Mogherini’s 'Secret' Letter to Zarif.

Iranian Official Denies Mogherini’s 'Secret' Letter to Zarif. (Iranfrontpage).

An official at Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied reports that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has received a secret letter from European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherin.

Speaking to Tasnim on Sunday May 5, the official made it clear that no such letter exists.

It came after rumours went around that Mogherini had sent Zarif a secret letter, saying the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) has lived up to all of its commitments under a lasting nuclear deal with Iran, and that the outstanding problems in financial and banking ties with Tehran have nothing to do with their commitments under the accord.

While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) came into force in January, some Iranian officials complain about the US failure to fully implement the accord.

In an interview with Tasnim in April, Mogherini said the EU has been holding talks with the US to remove the obstacles in the way of banks trying to get into Iran after implementation of the nuclear deal. Hmmmm.....We all know EU politicians never lie.

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council Responds to Mogherini: 'EU had NO HR problem expanding Business'

Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council Responds to Mogherini’s Statements: "EU members had no problem with HR to expand expanded economic and military relations with Iran" (Iranfrontpage).

Mizan News – The Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council reacted to Mogherini’s statements on the continuation of human rights sanctions in Isamic Republic of Iran.

As reported by Mizan News, and quoted by the Human Rights Council Information Centre, Dr. Mohammad Javad Larijani emphasized that the Human Rights Council supports Iran’s Foreign Minister regarding Iran’s readiness for human rights negotiations with the European Union.

He said, “We support our Foreign Minister, but planning and enforcing sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s individuals and organizations under the excuse of human rights contraventions is a shameful and unjustifiable action.”

He said that Islamic Republic of Iran will consider such actions as political enmity, “The majority of EU members have expanded economic and military relations in our region without the least consideration of the norms of human rights.

Even worse is that these countries spend millions of dollars equipping or creating dangerous terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-sham, all met with absolute silence from the EU. They are the main reasons behind tragedies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Africa – they should be ashamed to think of them.”

He then posed this question: “Doesn’t the EU count these [tragedies] as contraventions of human rights? Don’t they find it necessary to take action in this regard? Unfortunately, applying double standards – along with obvious human rights infractions in the West including racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia – all of this depletes the value of Western human rights claims.”

Concluding his remarks, Larijani said, “Iran and Europe’s human rights negotiations should work to expose these double standards, and to show that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the greatest democracy of the region.”

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Iran calls on EU to confront and force US on nuclear deal implementation.

Iran calls on EU to confront and force US on nuclear deal implementation. (Taz).

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of Iran Ali Shamkhani has asked the EU to confront with what he called Washington's "obstruction" of nuclear deal implementation.

In a meeting with the visiting EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on April 16, Shamkhani underlined that the Europe Union played a pivot role in concluding the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka nuclear deal), Iran's state-run IRINN TV reported.

Shamkhani further said that the achievement needs to be protected and implemented via continues cooperation of the EU.

He argued that the US is seeking to continue its sanctions policy against Iran and is troubling the implementation of the JCPOA, referring to Washington's approach as "undesirable and unconstructive".

Shamkhani further said that if the EU fails to adopt effective action against the US approach, the United States' present course of action will entail negative repercussions for continued cooperation and implementation of mutual commitments under the nuclear deal.

Earlier the same day, Iran's Foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, underlined that the other parties, in particular the US, should in practice fulfill their obligations under the nuclear deal.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Mogherini, Zarif said Washington should do more to remove obstacles to Iran's banking system.

Earlier, Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's central bank, accused the US and the EU of failing to honor the JCPOA by keeping Iran locked out of the international financial system.


"In general, we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad," Seif said Apr. 15 at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US. Hmmm......Mogherini to the rescue. 

Israel, EU Begin Talks to End Crisis over EU's Labeling of Settlement Products.

Israel, EU Begin Talks to End Crisis Sparked by EU's Labeling of Settlement Products. (Haaretz).

Israeli official says labeling of settlement products was 'unilateral and adopted Palestinian narrative – that's no way to conduct respectful dialogue.'

Israel and the European Union have begun quiet talks toward resolution of the crisis growing out of the European Union’s decision to label products made in the settlements in European marketing chains, and to restart discussion on the Palestinian issue, which was halted by Israel three months ago.

Officials in Jerusalem said Israel and the EU are working toward reaching understandings that would include mutual steps to bring the relationship back on track.  Read the full story here.

Italy's credit agency Sace pays for Airbus planes Iran buys from France.

"YES WE CAN"

Italy's credit agency Sace pays for Airbus planes Iran to buy. (Iran Frontpage).

Italian credit agency Sace has paid for the Airbus aircraft Iran is to buy from France and Tehran will pay back the cash by 15 to 20 installments.

According to ISNA, CEO of Export Guarantee Fud of Iran Kamal Seyyed Ali said this in a press conference on Tuesday.

Considering that Airbus had At year-end 2015, an overall backlog of 6,787 aircraft – providing a volume equivalent to 10 years of production at current rates. Hmmmm........At what time did Iran place the order in Europe?  

Related: Iran to Receive 114 Airbus Planes by June, when was the order placed?

'When in Rome do as the Romans' - Nude statues covered to save Islamist Iranian blushes.

'When in Rome do as the Romans' - Nude statues covered to save Islamist Iranian blushes. (JPost).

Politicians slam Italian PM for making almost no reference to Iran's human rights record during presser with Rouhani, and for "surrendering" Italy's cultural identity by hiding nude statues of women.    

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under fire on Tuesday after ancient nude statues in Rome's Capitoline museum were covered up to avoid any possible offense to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who is visiting the country.

Politicians on the Left and Right said not only had Renzi made almost no reference to Iran's human rights record during a joint news conference, but had also "surrendered" Italy's cultural identity by hiding the nude statues of women.

"Respect for other cultures cannot and must not mean negating our own," said Luca Squeri, a lawmaker in former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia party. "This isn't respect, it's cancelling out differences and it's a kind of surrender."

At Iran's request Italy also kept wine off the menu at a ceremonial dinner on Monday evening. Hmmm........Mogherini guidelines? .Read the full story here.

Iran, Italy sign up to $18.4bn contracts.

Iran, Italy sign up to $18.4bn contracts. (Taz).

Iran and Italy have signed multi-billion dollar contracts covering various sectors including health, transportation, agriculture and energy, Press TV reported.

The contracts, worth up to 17 billion euros (USD 18.4 billion), were signed in a ceremony attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella in Rome on Monday night.


The Iranian president arrived in Italy on Monday on the first leg of his trip to three European destinations following the implementation of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Rouhani flew into Rome at the head of a delegation of more than 100 businessmen and ministers. He will meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Pope Francis during his two-day stay before traveling to France on Wednesday.

Italy has traditionally had close economic ties with Tehran and no sooner had Rouhani's plane touched down in Rome, than a government source said Italian firms were poised to sign commercial accords worth between 15 billion to 17 billion euros.

These included a deal for Italian oil services group Saipem  for a 2,000 km (1,240 miles) pipeline worth between $4 billion and $5 billion, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Saipem was not immediately available for a comment.

Prior to the ceremony, Reuters reported that a pipeline contract worth between 3.6-4.6 billion euros (USD 4-5 billion) for Italian oil services group Saipem was among the deals.

Infrastructure firm Condotte d'Acqua was also scheduled to sign deals worth up to four billion euros (USD 4.3 billion).

In addition, Italian steel firm Danieli  will sign commercial agreements worth up to $5.7 billion with Iran, a company spokesman said. These accords will include a joint venture, to be called Persian Metallics, with other international investors, worth $2 billion.

Rouhani is due to address a conference of entrepreneurs and industrial leaders in Rome on Tuesday.
Iran demonstrated its hunger for Western goods at an aviation conference in Tehran on Sunday, announcing plans to buy more than 160 European planes, including eight superjumbos from Airbus , and holding up the prospect of a major order for U.S. company Boeing. Hmmm......what happened to 'Thirty pieces of Silver' ?

'Human rights? What Human rights violations? Turkey important player in region – EU Mogherinni.

'Human rights? What Human rights violations? Turkey important player in region – EU Mogherinni. (Taz).

Turkey is an important player in the region, said the head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini at a press conference in Ankara, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported Jan. 25.

Mogherini said that the relations between Turkey and the EU are increasingly developing.
Ankara applied for the EU membership in 1987, and negotiations on Turkey’s accession started in 2005.

Since then, the parties have agreed on 14 out of 35 technical points that Ankara must fulfill to achieve the standards required for EU membership.

In January 2015, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is no longer interested in the EU accession.


The same year only 20 percent of Turkish population wanted the country to join the EU compared to 75 percent previously. Hmmm.....I said it before and i'll say it again the EU politicians would sell any human right for a profit.

Iran firing up first LNG project with EU.

Iran firing up first LNG project with EU. (IFN).

The National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) is in talks with foreign firms to sell part of its shares in the country’s “frontrunner” LNG scheme which has lingered for years amid sanctions.

According to General Manager of marketing at NIGEC Mostafa Sharif, the company plans to sell at least 20% of its 49% shares in Iran LNG joint venture project to foreign companies.

Along with Iran Oil Pension Fund which holds the remaining 51%, NIGEC hopes to complete the project in just under three years, making the country’s first LNG exports ready for the market.

Iran LNG is a $3.3 billion project to produce 10.5 million tons of liquefied gas per year. It is 60% complete, according to officials, pending imports of new equipment and structures to bring it online.

With sanctions formally removed on Saturday, many of Iran’s oil and gas development projects are expected to gain pace as foreign companies are offering funds and technology in anticipation of big dividends.

Sharif, quoted by London-based Argus Media, said Iran Oil Pension Fund may also seek to sell some of it 51% stake in Iran LNG. Discussions with foreign oil companies could be concluded this year, he added.

German industrial gases group Linde has already offered to help Iran complete its LNG projects which also include LNG Pars and LNG Persian.

The three projects had been awarded to Royal Dutch Shell, Spain’s Repsol and France’s Total to produce 40 million metric tons of LNG a year for exports but the three companies abandoned them in 2011 when Iran came under sanctions.

Foreign companies are also weighing $800 million-$1 billion of investment in floating production of LNG from associated gas at offshore fields in the Persian Gulf, a senior energy official has said.

Last November, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said Iran and Belgium were in talks for possible FLNG production off the Kharg Island. Hmmm.........EU parliamentarians haven't seen a single Human right worth keeping for a good profit. Read the full story here.

Video - Congress Moves To Protect EUROPEAN Jewish Communities From Antisemitism!

EU[Rabia] to publish guidelines on the consumer labeling of settlement products.

Nazi Germany Berlin Jewish warehouse. 

EU[rabia] to publish guidelines on the consumer labeling of settlement products. (JPost).

The European Union is expected to publish in the next few weeks its long anticipated guidelines on the consumer labeling of Israeli products produced over the pre-1967 lines – in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.

The impending EU labeling of what it calls “settlement products” has been a contentious issue between Brussels and Jerusalem since 2012.

Monday night an Israeli diplomat said, “We expect the guidelines to be published soon, possibly within days.”

The official added, “We’re trying to convince the European Union and its member states that this is a mistake. It has an element of discrimination to it and does not in any way help the diplomatic process.”

Israel took issue with the publication of the guidelines at time when the Palestinian leadership refuses to hold direct talks with Israel and during a period in which, since October 1, Palestinian assailants have killed 11 Israelis and wounded more than 100 in a series of some 60 attacks.

“If anything, the publication of these guidelines now gives the Palestinians a prize for their terrorism and obstinacy. It also supports the overall atmosphere of Israeli boycotts,” the official said.

The guidelines, to be published out of Brussels under the guidance of the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, do not need to be put to a vote.

The document simply puts together already existing guidelines and legislation with regard to “settlement products.” It is designed to help EU member states understand what the law is with regard to the labeling of such products.

The EU considers Jewish communities over the pre- 1967 lines in east Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank to be illegal under international law.

For over a decade, Israeli products produced over the pre-1967 lines have been exempt from Israel’s free trade agreement with the EU. Codes have been placed on the products to allow EU custom officials to properly determine if the products were produced within the Green Line or over it.

These guidelines would provide European consumers in stores with that same information. Hmmm.....At least now will know where to find Jewish products to buy.Read the full story here.

EU[Rabia] Decides to Label Golan, Judea and Samaria Products.

EU[Rabia] Decides to Label Golan, Judea and Samaria Products. (INN).

The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution Thursday calling on the European Union to differentiate "between Israel and its activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory" and to ensure “that all agreements between the EU and Israel must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.”

The resolution, which passed by 525 votes to 70, with 31 abstentions, calls on EU foreign policy chief Federica Mussolini Mogherini “to take the lead within the Commission with a view to completing the work on EU-wide guidelines on the labeling of Israeli settlement produce.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry lashed out against the move, saying, “The State of Israel views the parliament’s decision with severity, in particular the call for labeling products. The process of labeling is discriminatory, and reeks of a boycott."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that the EU motion was "discriminatory with a sharp smell of boycott," adding that "under the guise of a technical procedure, this is an attempt to force a diplomatic solution instead of encouraging the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table."

He added: "Europe treats Israel with sanctimonious hypocrisy, while it doesn’t raise the issue of similar solutions in Northern Cyprus and Western Sahara."

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely responded to the decision by saying: “We need to call a spade a spade: marking products is a boycott.

"The state of Israel will not allow any body to discriminate between products that are produced by citizens of Israel and within Israel's territory,” she added. “The attempts to advance some kind of arrangement through unilateral moves, especially when this involves labeling products, will end up achieving nothing and leading nowhere.”

Hotovely said that immediately after Rosh Hashana, she intends to hold an urgent session on the matter with the Europe Section of the ministry, and launch a diplomatic campaign against the EU initiative to label products. Hmmm.....The 1930's are back. 

EU[Rabia] foreign policy chief to visit Tehran.

EU[Rabia] foreign policy chief to visit Tehran. (Taz).

The EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is scheduled to visit Tehran on July 28, the European Commission reported. She will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and other senior officials during her one-day visit.

The visit comes following the Iran-P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China , and Germany ) historic deal on Tehran’s nuclear program on July 14.

Mogherini follows on from German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel’s visit to Iran last week, the first senior figure from the EU to visit the country since the deal.

Gabriel arrived in Tehran on July 19 to discuss Iran-Germany economic ties in post-sanctions period. He met senior Iranian officials including President Rouhani as well as Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian during his three-day visit.


French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also will pay an official visit to Tehran on July 29. Other high-ranking European officials are due to travel Tehran soon. Hmmm........Highly respected figure  EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, who is widely admired by Palestinians in Gaza.

EU[Rabia]'s Mogherini’s Iran trip encourages more executions.

EU[Rabia]'s Mogherini’s Iran trip encourages more executions. (NCRI).

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran reiterates that the upcoming trip to Iran by Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and meetings with leaders of the ruling religious fascism encourage this regime to continue torture and executions. 

It urges all supporters of human rights, women’s rights and democracy to take urgent action for the cancellation of this trip. This and other trips to Iran under the mullahs’ rule run counter to the national interest of the Iranian people and their determination to overthrow this regime and establish democracy and popular rule in Iran.

Ms. Mogherini plans to meet with those responsible for 120,000 political executions and the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988. 

Amnesty International in a press release on July 23 wrote that in the first half of 2015 at least 694 prisoners have been executed in Iran, adding: “Iran’s staggering execution toll for the first half of this year paints a sinister picture of the machinery of the state carrying out premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale. ... We are likely to see more than 1,000 state-sanctioned deaths by the year’s end.”

Ms. Mogherini will be meeting in Tehran with those bearing chief responsibility for the export of terrorism and fundamentalism and the massacre of the innocent peoples of Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. These officials should be tried for crimes against humanity for their crimes both inside Iran and abroad.

In the nine months that Ms. Mogherini has taken the helm in Schuman Square, some 1,000 prisoners have been executed in Iran, women have faced the most severe pressures, and religious and ethnic minorities have faced extensive repression and discrimination; however, Ms. Mogherini has refrained from uttering even a verbal condemnation of these daily atrocities. This is disgraceful for the European Union whose very foundation is based on countering fascism and supporting democracy and human rights.

While every day hundreds of Iranian women are arrested, fined and flogged by the agents of the regime on the bogus charge of ‘mal-veiling’, Ms. Mogherini plans to please the mullahs and obey their instructions by wearing a veil in her meetings with human rights criminals such as Hassan Rouhani, Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Javad Zarif and Ali Larijani. Ms. Mogherini’s action is a blatant insult to all Iranian women.

The NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee strongly condemns this trip and urges Ms. Mogherini not to put salt on the Iranian people’s wounds, even if she refuses to doing anything to ease their pain and suffering.

The Iranian people, in particular the women, youth, political prisoners, and the families of those who have been executed, expect human rights and women’s rights defenders in Europe and particularly in Italy to take action to halt this visit which is considered as a dagger to the heart of democracy and human rights. Hmmmm.....I said it many times before the EU politicians would sell their whole family for financial gain and cheap gas.....'What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?' - Matthew 16:26.

Article On Hamas Website: Our War Against The Occupation Is A Religious War Against The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs

IT WAS NEVER ABOUT LAND!

Article On Hamas Website: Our War Against The Occupation Is A Religious War Against The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs. (MEMRI).

Following the November 5, 2014 vehicular terrorist attack at a light rail station in Jerusalem, perpetrated by Hamas activist Ibrahim Al-Akari,[1] analyst and columnist Dr. 'Issam Shawer posted an article on the Hamas website titled "The Revolution Of Anger Against The Crimes Of The Occupier And The Western Plot." In the article, he praised Al-Akari's "martyrdom operation" and argued that the war against Israel is a religious war against the descendants of apes and pigs who have defiled the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and not a political struggle that can be waged at the UN or by means of negotiations. Shawer also warned of additional terror attacks in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank if Israel continues with its policy towards the Palestinians and the holy places.

Below are translated excerpts from Shawer's article: [2]

"Ibrahim Al-Akari's martyrdom operation on Tuesday, November 6, 2014 [sic] was not the first [such operation], and will not be the last, in response to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the despicable crimes that it [Israel] commits daily against our holy places in Palestine and particularly in Jerusalem. In the coming days and weeks, [further] surprises and quality operations by the Palestinian resistance are expected, as long as the Jews continue to test the patience of the Palestinian people and to defile holy places in an unprecedented manner.

"Palestinian and Arab voices are warning that religious war could break out in the region because of what they term 'the Israeli violations.'

But we maintain, and believe, that our battle against the occupier is fundamentally religious, not geographic, historic, or economic. 

Allah the Exalted mentioned [in the Koran] our [current] conflict with the occupier, when he told His servants that they would enter Al-Aqsa Mosque as they had entered it the first time, and told us [also] that everything that 'Israel' had built in order to establish its fragile entity would be destroyed[3]...

Therefore, we must stop arguing that our battle against the enemy is political, waged in the arena of the UN, the Security Council, or negotiations. All this nonsense contradicts the Koran and the Hadith.

"The boiling [anger] that invaded the heart of the Palestinian people is intensifying daily; the Palestinian rage is building, and it surges when we see the sons of apes and pigs defiling Al-Aqsa Mosque, starving the Gaza Strip residents, and attempting to impose a Jewish presence on our mosque and give legal validity to the siege on our people.

"The rage is building, and it surges with every Israeli violation against a Palestinian, whoever he may be. This is what the Israeli occupation government, the Arab governments, and Western society must know. The Palestinian people is enraged at the Israeli crimes in Jerusalem, at the international plot against Gaza, and at the restrictions on the lives of the West Bank residents.

If those who seek quiet in our region do not rectify their mistakes and [do not deal with] Israel's brutality, the situation will explode not only in Jerusalem, but also in Gaza and the West Bank. This is because all the signs are attesting to this, and only a blind man or a fool can ignore them."

Endnotes:

[1] Ibrahim Al-Akari is also the brother of Mussa Al-Akari, a member of the Hamas cell that abducted and murdered Israeli Border Police officer Nissim Toledano in 1992.

[2] Felesteen.ps, November 6, 2014 .

[3] Koran 17:1-7.

New EU[rabia] foreign policy chief: Recognizing a Palestinian state is not enough.

This undated image shows a young Federica Morgherini, the EU's new high representative for foreign affairs, with the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat.  probably dating back to the years of the Second Intifada when she worked for the Foreign Department of the DS

New EU[rabia] foreign policy chief: Recognizing a Palestinian state is not enough. (JPost).

Federica Mogherini chairs first meeting of EU foreign ministers since taking place of Catherine Ashton; says ministers will focus on what can be done to relaunch peace process and EU’s role.

European foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels Monday morning to discuss the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process amid growing calls by local politicians for the member states to unilaterally recognize Palestine as a state.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini of Italy, told reporters that the topic in front of the EU council of foreign ministers is boosting the EU’s role in a renewed peace process.

“What we need is not just recognition [of a Palestinian state]. We need  the building of a Palestinian state that can live next to the Israeli one in peace and security,” she said before the council meeting.

The meeting is the first one to be chaired by Mogherini who entered her post at the start of November, replacing Catherine Ashton. She immediately made a two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, including Gaza.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiations broke down in April and have yet to be revived, although the US has been speaking with both Palestinians and Israelis about that possibility. Hmmmm....Mind-boggling that someone so unqualified for the job can get the job. More here.