Rapporti verbatim tad-dibattiti

L-Erbgħa, 2 ta' Frar 2011 - Brussell

15. Is-sitwazzjoni fil-Mediterran, b'mod partikolari fit-Tuneżija u fl-Eġittu (dibattitu)

  Przewodniczący. − Kolejnym punktem porządku dziennego jest oświadczenie wiceprzewodniczącej Komisji, Wysokiej Przedstawiciel Unii Europejskiej d.s. Zagranicznej Polityki Bezpieczeństwa w sprawie sytuacji Morza Śródziemnego, w szczególności w Tunezji i Egipcie.

  Catherine Ashton, Vice-President of the Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. − Mr President, we have all been watching very closely the recent events in Tunisia and more lately in Egypt.

The people in both countries have voiced legitimate grievances and aspirations and they expect a proper response not only from within their countries but also from their partners, including the European Union. Their message is clear: their political systems have reached a point of no return, and change must come now.

I take this opportunity to express my admiration for their dignity and courage and, in the light of what we are seeing now on our television screens from Egypt in particular, I call for calm and restraint and dialogue.

I am going to begin by talking about Tunisia. The changes that have taken place have been remarkable and have paved the way for more democratic development of the country. Despite many challenges, we can already see the positive developments in Tunisia, where efforts have been made to meet the demands of the population. The transitional government has taken some important steps, in particular by freeing political prisoners and allowing freedom of expression, as well as prosecuting members of former President Ben Ali’s family for corruption.

Furthermore, three independent commissions have been set up and have begun their work: the Commission for inquiry into corruption and misuse of public funds; the Commission for inquiry into abuses during the repression in the course of the latest events; and the High Commission for Political Reform.

I have taken note too of the most recent government reshuffle in response to popular demand. The government has received the support of the main opposition parties and the main trade union – the Tunisian General Labour Union. Peace and stability is important to allow Tunisia to put in place democratic and transparent elections and effect vital political, economic and social changes. The European Union is there to support the country and its people at this difficult moment of transition, and we have responded immediately – not in order to impose our views or ideas, but to offer our help and to work together.

I spoke last week with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ounaies, following his appointment, and we met together today in Brussels. We had a substantial discussion here – the first place that he has visited since taking office – on the best way for the European Union to support the transition and assist the Tunisian people. He confirmed today the request for support from the EU in the preparatory phase of the elections and in the observation of future elections. We are about to dispatch an experts’ mission to Tunisia to assess the electoral legislation and provide legal advice to the transition authorities on it, and last week EEAS managing director Hugues Mingarelli was on the ground in Tunisia discussing people’s needs with them.

As for other forms of assistance, we have increased the allocation for cooperation with civil society. This will be combined with a reorientation of our assistance programmes to help the people more directly. Liberal policies alone cannot bring the needed economic and social welfare and wealth distribution for all the Tunisian people. So we are going to review with Tunisia our priorities, to take account of the new situation and adapt our assistance to their social needs.

Today the Minister conveyed to me details of the concerns that they have and the plans that they have, so that we will be able to respond, together with other international partners.

I offered concrete support, initially in the areas of electoral support; governance and transition to democracy; support for civil society and NGOs; support for the rule of law and judicial reform; economic governance and the fight against corruption; economic and social development (including support to impoverished areas in the centre and south of Tunisia).

We are also ready to consider, with the Member States, mobility-related measures and increased market access. Working-level contacts are well underway on all these issues and we will continue the dialogue. I plan to travel to Tunisia the week after next.

As for the Tunisian authorities’ request that the assets of Mr Ben Ali and people closely linked to his regime be frozen, we have already taken the initial steps. We accelerated procedures to allow the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday to adopt a decision on restrictive measures, with a view to imposing an assets freeze on persons under inquiry for embezzlement of state funds in Tunisia. The Tunisian authorities have communicated to us a list of persons who should be the object of these measures.

As I indicated, our managing director Hugues Mingarelli travelled to the region last week. He had discussions with the preliminary government and the presidents of each of the three newly established commissions and met with civil-society representatives.

I want to welcome too the European Parliament initiative to send a delegation to Tunisia. I believe it is vital that the Tunisian people see the strong support of the EU, and in particular the European Parliament, in what is a critical moment of transition towards democracy. We need to strengthen all possible people-to-people contacts and reach out to civil society, and that includes supporting NGOs, professional associations and student exchanges.

We now have an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between Tunisia and the European Union on the basis of an affirmation of democracy and economic and social reform. I hope we can build on the mutual respect and trust among our respective peoples to ensure stability and a democratic and prosperous future for Tunisia. In that context I look forward to the upcoming free and democratic elections and the establishment of the new government. I have agreed with the Tunisian Foreign Minister to resume negotiations on Advanced Status shortly, with a view to their conclusion once a new democratically elected government is in place.

Finally, the Foreign Minister described the atmosphere as an atmosphere of reconciliation. I hope that we will be able to work with Tunisia to move that atmosphere forward towards a new, freer democracy.

I will now address the situation in Egypt. Just over one week ago we witnessed the start of an extraordinary movement there. Anti-government protests – clearly inspired by the events in Tunisia and beyond, and organised mainly through social media and word of mouth – have, I think, taken the whole world by surprise.

The great strength of this popular uprising is that it is happening across Egypt. Hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, men and women, are taking to the streets, demanding their legitimate political and socio-economic rights. The protests have spread from Cairo to Alexandria and Suez and further across Egypt and the crowds have continued to grow in size and diversity, with protestors united in their demands for regime change and for the observance of fundamental human rights.

The initially relatively peaceful protests have become increasingly violent, with the police firing teargas and rubber bullets and using water cannons. We are concerned that live ammunition may also have been used. Like all the honourable Members here, I deplore the considerable loss of life during the demonstrations and my thoughts go out to those who have lost their loved ones. The large number of injured and arrested is also a cause of great concern, and all parties have to show restraint and stop the violence.

We have prepared for the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday with our conclusions calling upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately release all peaceful demonstrators who have been detained. Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are fundamental human rights for everybody, which the state has a duty to protect. The imposed restrictions on media, including the Internet, are unacceptable and I urge the Egyptian authorities to restore all communication networks without delay.

Through nationwide demonstrations, the Egyptian people are expressing their wish to see change. Hundreds of thousands have gathered in each rally across the country. It is of the utmost importance that these voices are listened to, now, and that the situation is addressed through urgent, concrete and decisive measures. The time has come for orderly transition and a peaceful and far-reaching transformation.

The authorities must seek, and take seriously, an open dialogue with the political forces. It is important that civil society plays a crucial role in that dialogue. The Egyptian authorities must move forward quickly through a broad-based government leading to a genuine process of substantial democratic reform and paving the way for free and fair elections.

We will offer our full support to an Egypt that strives for transformation to be more democratic and more pluralist. We have a shared interest in peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean and Middle East region.

What we must do now is adapt and reinforce the means at our disposal to support the necessary political, economic and social reforms. Our cooperation already has democracy, human rights and the rule of law as constituent elements and we have to refocus and strengthen that work.

For me, politics is about changing things: about helping people shape their own lives. Across the Arab world, we are seeing lots of potentially positive change, driven by the demands of people.

As the European Union, our offer to the region and to the people is solidarity and support to put the reforms in place. We are a union of democracies – we have a democratic calling, so we will back this process of change with creativity and with determination.

ΠΡΟΕΔΡΙΑ: ΣΤΑΥΡΟΣ ΛΑΜΠΡΙΝΙΔΗΣ
Αντιπρόεδρος

  José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, en nombre del Grupo PPE. – Señor Presidente, señora Vicepresidenta/Alta Representante, Señorías, sea cual fuere el resultado o el desenlace de la situación en Egipto, yo creo que podemos afirmar que habrá un antes y un después de los sucesos de Túnez.

En mi opinión, no creo que debamos buscar culpables en este hemiciclo porque esta crisis haya encontrado a la Unión Europea con el pie cambiado, pero creo que debemos sacar algunas conclusiones sobre el particular.

En primer lugar, la Unión Europea tiene que ser más visible, tiene que hablar con una sola voz y evitar toda cacofonía, y para eso hemos creado el Servicio Europeo de Acción Exterior y la figura del Alto Representante.

En segundo lugar, tenemos que sacar las lecciones oportunas de políticas complacientes con los enemigos de la libertad, desde Bielorrusia a Cuba, pasando por los países del Mediterráneo. Y tenemos que preguntarnos si hay más estabilidad, si hay más prosperidad y si hay más democracia, como pretendía el Proceso de Barcelona.

Y, en tercer lugar, señor Presidente, creo que tenemos que distinguir entre lo que tiene que hacer la Unión Europea a medio plazo y lo que tiene que hacer a corto plazo. Y a corto plazo —yo creo que la señora Ashton ha trazado un camino— la Unión Europea tiene que apoyar decididamente estos procesos de transición para no frustrar las esperanzas de libertad de estos países amigos. Y es también nuestra obligación, señor Presidente, alertar de los riesgos que conllevan estos procesos, para que no sean secuestrados por los enemigos de las sociedades abiertas.

A medio plazo, señor Presidente, es importante que la Unión Europea lleve a cabo una profunda reflexión de carácter estratégico acerca de cómo reformar nuestra política de vecindad en el sentido que solicitábamos ayer al señor Füle en la Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores.

Y todo ello, señor Presidente, sin olvidar que muchas veces es más difícil mantener el equilibrio de la libertad que sacudirse el yugo de la tiranía.

  Adrian Severin, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, the current events in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the region, must remind us that stability without freedom is, if not a mere illusion, at least an unsustainable reality.

We must also remember that a revolution or a social upheaval is a guarantee of change, but it is not a guarantee of change for the better. I hope that we will find the inspiration to assist this process in order to make it a process which brings change for the better and not for the worse.

Deep analysis is needed of the situation in both Tunisia and Egypt (and not only there), since we have to understand whether we did the right things in the past with a view to avoiding these crises. What steps should we take in the future in order to anticipate or avoid similar crises? And lastly, what could we do in order to make sure that the present crisis will move things towards freedom for the peoples concerned and stability for the region, while avoiding any shift towards more, or another type of, instability and another type of totalitarianism or oppression.

We need to adopt a preventive and proactive attitude in this respect, and that requires strategy. Certainly our messages were correct in terms of balancing the key word ‘reform’ with the key words ‘order’ or ‘stability’. But the devil is, precisely, in the detail, and indeed it is the feeling of many of us that we have not yet addressed the details, and that we have not shown enough vision or enough strength in addressing the challenges. Another important factor is our capacity to talk to all valid actors, including the Islamic forces, in such a way as to be able to integrate all of them into a positive process.

We hope that the Commission and the Council will be able to shape such a strategy in the future and we would be happy if they could tell us more about that.

  Guy Verhofstadt, au nom du groupe ALDE. – Monsieur le Président, je crois que ce qu'on est en train de vivre pour le moment en Tunisie et, surtout, ces dernières heures en Égypte, est à la fois historique et très tragique.

On entend maintenant qu'il y a eu, ces dernières heures, des centaines et des centaines de blessés. J'y pense surtout parce que je vois une similitude entre ce qui se passe maintenant au Moyen-Orient, en Afrique du Nord, et ce qui s'est passé en Europe en 1989. C'est exactement la raison pour laquelle je suis, je tiens à le dire, surpris, étonné, déçu, de la manière dont l'Europe est en train de refaire exactement les mêmes erreurs qu'en 1989.

Il est incroyable, Monsieur le Président, que nous, soi-disant le continent démocratique, n'ayons pas encore réussi à donner notre soutien sans réserve aux masses qui sont dans la rue – des masses qui ne demandent rien d'autre que notre soutien.

(Applaudissements)

Et cela, chers collègues, je ne l'ai pas encore entendu, ni hier, ni aujourd'hui, de la part de la Haute représentante.

Pourquoi, Madame Ashton, l'Europe a-t-elle réagi de façon tellement faible? En réalité, on n'a presque pas réagi. Vous avez réagi, puis l'Allemagne, la France, la Grande-Bretagne ont aussi fait une communication sans concertation, comme si l'Europe n'existait pas. Et je tiens à dire que la seule bonne intervention européenne est venue de l'extérieur de l'Union, c'est-à-dire du premier ministre turc, M. Erdogan, qui a dit à M. Moubarak qu'il devait écouter les exigences de son peuple et qu'il devait donc s'en aller. C'est la seule bonne réaction au niveau européen qu'on ait entendue.

(Applaudissements)

Je pense que la communication que vous faites aujourd'hui est très importante pour ceux qui sont dans la rue et qui se battent peut-être pour leur vie. Moi, je crois que deux erreurs ont été commises par l'Europe ces derniers jours.

Tout d'abord, on ne comprend pas à quel point le moment est historique et, deuxièmement, ce qui est encore beaucoup plus important, on a une fausse analyse de la situation. On a peur – c'est pour cela qu'il y a cette communication erronée – de l'instauration d'un régime islamiste après les élections. Eh bien, moi, je vous le dis, je n'ai pas peur, je fais confiance au peuple tunisien et au peuple égyptien!

(Applaudissements)

Ce sont eux qui veulent la démocratie, et le fait qu'aujourd'hui et hier, les coptes et les musulmans marchent épaule contre épaule est la preuve suffisante de ce qu'ils veulent, à savoir une vraie démocratie ouverte.

Je vais vous donner un deuxième exemple pour illustrer le fait qu'il ne faut pas avoir peur de s'exprimer pour la démocratie ouverte dans ces pays. Vous connaissez tous Mohamed Bouazizi, l'homme qui a initié, en fait, la révolution en Tunisie par son immolation. Eh bien, Madame Ashton, sur le cercueil de M. Bouazizi, il n'y avait pas le drapeau vert de l'islam, il y avait le drapeau rouge de la Tunisie, et ce ne sont donc pas des révolutions islamistes qu'on est en train de vivre pour le moment. Non, au contraire, ce sont des révolutions pour la liberté.

(Applaudissements)

Alors, maintenant que, depuis près d'une semaine, ce sont des milliers de personnes qui se rassemblent au Caire, au moment où il y a aussi des manifestations en Jordanie, au Yémen, en Syrie, en Algérie, je vous demande, Madame Ashton, de changer la position de l'Union européenne. Et je veux que vous disiez aujourd'hui, ici, dans cette enceinte, clairement, en notre nom, que l'Union européenne soutient à 100 % le peuple d'Égypte et ses revendications. Nous voulons que, finalement, Moubarak écoute son peuple et qu'il libère, par son départ, son pays, pour la démocratie et la liberté aujourd'hui. C'est le message que je veux entendre dans la réponse que vous ferez tout à l'heure.

(Applaudissements)

  Daniel Cohn-Bendit, au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, Madame Ashton, vous faites un appel au calme. Mais alors, nommez un chat un chat! Ce sont les troupes de Moubarak qui ont installé la terreur sur la place, aujourd'hui, en Égypte, ce ne sont pas les manifestants! Donc, ne demandez pas le calme à tout le monde. Demandez à M. Moubarak d'arrêter d'agresser les manifestants parce qu'il fait cela pour pouvoir ensuite dire: "Je vais remettre de l'ordre dans le chaos". C'est le piège qu'il est en train de tendre, et nous, nous disons aux uns et aux autres: "Calmez-vous!". Non! Il faut dire à M. Moubarak: "Calmez-vous!", et le meilleur moyen de calmer la situation, c'est de déguerpir, de s'en aller. Le calme règnera alors au Caire.

Avez-vous vu que ceux qui sont arrivés avec des couteaux, ce sont des policiers de M. Moubarak? Ce sont des pauvres amenés ce matin en bus du fin fond de l'Égypte qui ont créé le trouble. Il faut le dire, Madame Ashton, et ne pas faire semblant d'être aveugles! Il y a là une chose que je trouve extraordinaire chez vous: aujourd'hui vous comprenez tout sur ce qui s'est passé, sur ce qu'était la Tunisie il y a encore trois semaines. Mais quand, il y a trois semaines, ici, au Parlement européen, nous prenions une initiative vous demandant d'arrêter les négociations sur le rehaussement de la Tunisie à cause de la dictature, vous nous disiez que ce n'était pas possible. Et aujourd'hui, c'est possible! Vous êtes une résistante de la vingt-cinquième heure! Après ça, tout est clair! Je vous demande donc une chose, Madame Ashton: concernant la Tunisie, dites-nous où l'Europe a mis l'argent. Dites-nous à quelles entreprises l'argent européen est allé, quelles entreprises de M. Ben Ali et de sa femme ont été soutenues par l'argent européen. Vous pouvez nous le dire. Ce Parlement a le droit de le savoir!

Deuxièmement, Madame Ashton, puisque vous dites que vous allez soutenir aujourd'hui le peuple tunisien, je vous demande une chose: qu'il y ait, dans la transition, une égalité de possibilités dans le processus démocratique. S'il y a une nouvelle élection – vous savez que le RCD tunisien a de l'argent, que les forces d'opposition, interdites pendant des années, n'ont pas d'argent –, il faut que l'Union européenne soit là pour soutenir l'équilibre et l'égalité démocratiques. Concernant l'Égypte, Madame Ashton, une chose est évidente aujourd'hui: si nous ne réussissons pas à soutenir les Égyptiens dans ce processus de libération, les peuples du Moyen-Orient, les peuples arabes vont nous tourner le dos encore une fois, alors qu'aujourd'hui, nous avons une situation extraordinaire – vous ne l'avez pas citée, M. Verhofstadt, non plus –: il y a eu, à Gaza, une manifestation de soutien aux Égyptiens et le Hamas a interdit cette manifestation. C'est la preuve qu'aujourd'hui, le vent de liberté souffle aussi contre les théocraties au Moyen-Orient et dans les pays arabes, et que c'est notre rôle de les aider. Nous avons pleuré pendant des années, où il n'y avait que l'alternative entre la dictature et les théocraties. Eh bien, Inch Allah! Il y a une troisième possibilité, c'est la liberté et la lutte pour la liberté contre les dictatures et contre les théocraties, et c'est notre rôle européen d'être aux côtés de ceux qui mènent ce combat.

(L'orateur accepte de répondre à une question "carton bleu" (article 149, paragraphe 8, du règlement))

  Niki Tzavela (EFD). - Mr President, with all due respect to Mr Verhofstadt and Mr Cohn-Bendit, I should like to say to the High Representative that I have very strong objections to what has been said by the two gentlemen. This whole situation reminds me of Iran. Please tread carefully in handling North Africa. This part of the world is not Europe.

The question is: can you not recall what happened in Iran? Do you not see any similarities? Do you not agree that we have to secure an orderly transition here?

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE). - Madame, je n'oserais pas vous donner une leçon d'histoire, mais je voudrais quand même rappeler qu'en Iran, c'est l'Occident, l'Amérique, qui a soutenu le shah d'Iran et que, jusqu'au dernier moment, même sous le gouvernement Bakhtiar, nous nous sommes trouvés du mauvais côté, et nous avons donné toutes les armes à la théocratie iranienne pour gagner.

C'est exactement ce que je voulais vous expliquer, à savoir que si nous ne sommes pas du côté de ceux qui se battent pour la liberté, ceux qui se battent pour la liberté vont aboutir dans une voie sans issue et c'est l'autre voie qui va gagner. C'est justement la leçon de l'Iran, Madame. La leçon de l'Iran, c'est ce qu'a dit M. Gorbatchev: "Qui arrive trop tard dans l'histoire sera battu".

Je demande que, pour une fois, l'Europe n'arrive pas trop tard dans cette région.

(Applaudissements)

  Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, France, of course, nurtured the Ayatollah Khomeini and flew him back to Tehran.

But, on another issue, Egypt has been a republic since 1956 but Mubarak is only the country’s third President. In Tunisia, Ben Ali was only the second leader since independence 53 years ago. When the political landscape offers such little hope of change, inevitably frustrations boil over – as we now see with the hurricane of change blowing across the region.

My group, the ECR Group, calls for a genuinely democratic and peaceful transition in Egypt. Today we see a worrying trend towards violence. It is hard to see how Mubarak can credibly play a role in that transition other than by stepping down.

Tunisia also remains in ferment, and the longer that lasts the greater the danger that Islamists will seize the political initiative. Tunisia may have been authoritarian and corrupt, but it was profoundly secular and pro-Western; we must remember that.

Indeed this is also a danger in Egypt, where the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood is seeking to fill the political vacuum as we speak. The radicalisation of Egyptian politics would be a disaster for that country and for neighbouring Israel. But it could also have grave implications for the operation of the Suez Canal.

The EU’s diplomatic efforts in Tunisia and Egypt must be focused entirely on ensuring stability and order, and resisting those who would wish to spread violence and fear as we see today. To build a liberal democracy in these countries with no such traditions, the EU, the USA and our political think-tanks in Europe must now place significant resources behind moderate democratic politicians and new parties who must be committed to democratic pluralism and free and fair elections and, unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, be prepared to relinquish power if defeated at the ballot box. This is a huge challenge and of course we may now be witnessing an historic ‘fall of the Berlin Wall moment’ in the Muslim world.

There are already good democratic role models in Muslim-majority countries, such as Indonesia, Turkey and Bangladesh, for Egypt and Tunisia to emulate. Hopefully, in future the choice in the Muslim world will not be between secular tyranny and Islamist theocracies but instead enduring democracy.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8))

  Marc Tarabella (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, je voudrais simplement m'adresser à M. Tannock pour fustiger son attitude par rapport à ceux qui se soulèvent aujourd'hui et, par ailleurs, j'aimerais prolonger ce qu'ont dit Guy Verhofstadt et Daniel Cohn-Bendit.

La révolte est populaire parce que les gens sont soumis à une pauvreté exécrable, et donc, les dirigeants que l'on a soutenus, certes au nom d'une certaine stabilité et pour endiguer un risque d'islamisme, font régner la terreur et maintiennent le peuple dans une pauvreté. Je voudrais donc vous demander si vous admettez que le peuple ait le droit de se soulever quand il est maintenu dans une pauvreté.

(Applaudissements)

  Charles Tannock (ECR). - Mr President, I think I made it very clear in my speech that I do not want a secular tyrant or an Islamist theocrat running any of the countries in our neighbourhood. I would, of course, like a liberal democrat prepared to stand for free and fair elections. I think that the economic situation and high levels of unemployment in Tunisia and Egypt are a serious problem and we must do all we can to address that. But that is not the issue here. The issue basically now is to see an orderly and peaceful transition in these countries and not a breakdown in law and order. We want to see stability, peace and, of course, democracy in our neighbourhood.

  President. − Let me just note, Mr Tannock, that your favourable reference to liberal democrats created a lot of happiness in the middle of the room. You may have some explaining to do later on.

(Laughter)

  Marie-Christine Vergiat, au nom du groupe GUE/NGL. – Monsieur le Président, je ne voulais pas tellement revenir sur le passé, mais j'entends des interventions surprenantes. Je trouve que ces derniers temps, depuis des mois, nous étions pratiquement les seuls, avec quelques députés du groupe Verts/ALE, pour demander que l'on parle de la situation en Tunisie. Il y a effectivement – Monsieur Cohn-Bendit, vous avez raison – beaucoup de résistants de la vingt-cinquième heure. Nous aurions beaucoup de choses à dire sur le passé, mais nous l'avons dit dans notre propre résolution et nous pensons qu'il faut nous intéresser d'abord à l'avenir.

Il faut éviter d'abord toute ingérence dans les affaires intérieures de ces pays. Ce n'est pas à nous, Européens, de dire comment les gouvernements de ces pays doivent être composés. Le peuple tunisien s'est libéré tout seul d'un régime dictatorial. Laissons-le s'exprimer et soutenons-le dans la voie vers la démocratie. Tous ceux qui suivent la situation en Tunisie savent que le passé n'est pas encore mort et que certains manipulent et manigancent dans l'ombre.

Aujourd'hui, les violences en Égypte montrent aussi que c'est difficile. Alors, oui, condamnez fermement toutes les violences, et ne vous contentez pas de demander qu'elles soient retenues, comme vous l'avez fait pour la Tunisie. Les violences policières sont toujours inadmissibles, aujourd'hui comme hier, en Tunisie et en Égypte, comme ailleurs. Demandons aux autorités tunisiennes, au peuple tunisien, ce qu'ils attendent sans rien leur imposer.

Vous avez fait le point de vos discussions avec le ministre des affaires étrangères, mais vous avez ajouté sans que cela ne vous ait, semble-t-il, été demandé, que vous vouliez y accroître l'accès au marché. Je trouve cela assez malvenu car l'aide de l'Union européenne en ce domaine n'a pas manqué.

Tout le monde semble découvrir aujourd'hui la corruption du régime de M. Ben Ali. Oui, la libéralisation économique en Tunisie a profité aux familles Ben Ali et Trabelsi grâce à l'aide de l'Union européenne. Oui, l'Union européenne doit être ferme sur toutes les violations des droits de l'homme. L'Union européenne a perdu beaucoup de crédibilité dans ces pays. Oui, nous devons enfin soutenir les démocrates et condamner toutes les dictatures.

  Fiorello Provera, a nome del gruppo EFD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, nel Maghreb un vecchio ordine sta cambiando e questa crisi pone una moltitudine di problemi che sono difficili da risolvere.

Accanto alle speranze ci sono dei rischi. È possibile che regimi autoritari ma laici vengano sostituiti dal fondamentalismo islamico teocratico, aggressivo e destabilizzante. Ricordiamoci di quanto è successo in Iran: è difficile accompagnare all'evoluzione democratica una rivoluzione. E dall'Iran una qualche lezione la dobbiamo trarre.

Altro pericolo è il probabile peggioramento della crisi economica nell'area, con l'ulteriore aggravarsi della disoccupazione giovanile e nuovi potenti flussi migratori che l'Europa non può più accogliere.

Questi avvenimenti rappresentano l'insufficienza della politica euromediterranea e dimostrano che la politica di cooperazione, com'è stata attuata finora, non è sufficiente per creare condizioni di sviluppo e democrazia. Quanto è successo non è dovuto soltanto alla crisi economica, per quanto grave, ma alla mancanza di stabilità sociale, ovvero alla mancanza degli strumenti di rappresentanza degli interessi popolari, ossia dei sindacati, della stampa libera, del pluralismo dei partiti, delle associazioni, dello Stato di diritto e delle pari opportunità per tutti.

Accompagnare i paesi dell'area in questo percorso deve essere il cuore della politica europea, insieme all'aiuto economico e commerciale. È così che si crea quella stabilità vera, che non è quella dei regimi autoritari ma quella fondata sul consenso sociale, la partecipazione e le istituzioni democratiche.

  Nicole Sinclaire (NI). - Mr President, foremost in my mind at the moment, as I prepare for the ad hoc delegation to Tunisia tomorrow – which I am delighted to be part of – is the well-being of the Tunisian people and the need for all of us to remember how important it is and why we respect their cultural values and their identity, as we help them build a new future based on the rule of law and democratic ideals.

People expect change and they expect aid without strings. I am so glad that Mr Cohn-Bendit has followed up the point I made in the delegation committee this morning about exactly what has happened to the EU money over all these years. The EAS representative there said that it was spent on reforms. What reforms? If there were adequate reforms, the people would not have revolted in the way they did. Can we have some truthful answers? We need to push the provisional government to investigate where that money went and make sure that any EU money in the future is rightfully spent.

  Ioannis Kasoulides (PPE). - Mr President, the Arab world is our partner in the Union for the Mediterranean. In all our involvement with them we have always advanced the principles of pluralistic democracy, freedom of the media, of expression and of assembly, respect for human rights, an independent judiciary, and good governance. But we have always maintained that these principles should be realised from within, not imposed from outside.

The people of Tunisia succeeded, from within, in defying repression, a police state and torture, and in winning freedom and democracy. The Tunisian authorities must respect the will of the people and proceed without delay to a process of democratisation, with accountability in cases of corruption or repression by the cronies of Ben Ali.

For similar reasons the people of Egypt have defied killings, arrests, tear gas and bullets and have demanded bread and freedom, dignity and emancipation.

Beware: democracy does not mean elections. It means much, much more than this. We unequivocally support the people of Egypt and call on their current leaders to listen to the wisdom of their people and not to become an obstacle in responding to their aspirations.

To our European officials, the Council and the Vice-President/High Representative, I say this: it is disappointing to listen to President Obama, or Hillary Clinton, speaking boldly and on time, with you, as always, playing second fiddle and barely audible.

  Véronique De Keyser (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, il y a vraiment des moments où il faut savoir choisir son camp, on me l'a dit tant de fois dans l'Union européenne. Et le camp, aujourd'hui, il est clair: mes collègues l'ont dit, c'est la voie de la liberté, c'est la voix du peuple.

Alors, au moment où je vous parle, le musée du Caire est en feu, les combats éclatent dans la rue, et je pense que, pour l'Égypte en tout cas, nous n'avons pas été assez clairs. Moubarak doit partir, cela doit être clair. Moubarak, tel qu'il est – et je respecte son vieux combat –, n'est pas capable d'assumer la transition politique; c'est une folie de lui demander cela et de laisser, aujourd'hui, dans les rues du Caire, le clan Moubarak affronter le clan El Baradei. Nous devons prendre nos responsabilités à cet égard.

Et je voudrais vous dire que, durant ces derniers jours, durant ces dernières nuits, je n'ai pas cessé de me demander quelle erreur nous avions faite. Nous avons fait une erreur magistrale: c'était de soutenir des régimes corrompus au nom de la stabilité, sans tenir compte de la justice sociale et de l'aspiration à la liberté des peuples.

(Applaudissements)

C'est une erreur que nous devons réparer, et c'est le moment aujourd'hui.

La deuxième erreur, je regrette, mes chers collègues, c'est de n'avoir pas compris l'islam politique. Je n'ai pas dit "de n'avoir pas accepté l'islam politique"! Il y a une différence entre des terroristes, des fondamentalistes, et certains des frères musulmans. À nous de faire ces différences, à nous de dialoguer, à nous d'écarter ceux dont nous ne voulons pas, mais nous avons fait le lit aujourd'hui de ces fondamentalistes! Nous avons fait le lit de certains terroristes!

Il est temps de revoir ces positions et, dernière chose, nous devons garder des acquis du passé de ces pays, la Tunisie, l'Égypte, etc., c'est-à-dire les structures laïques des États, les droits des femmes qui étaient importants dans ces pays, dans des structures et des constitutions laïques écartées de la charia. Il y a moyen de bâtir des démocraties avec des partis extrêmement diversifiés. Ne jetons pas le bébé avec l'eau du bain, gardons cette idée-là de laïcité de l'État et de respect des religions, des croyances et des diversités politiques.

(Applaudissements)

  Edward McMillan-Scott (ALDE). - Mr President, I think the issue of great urgency today is the state of play in Egypt. In 2005 I was the chairman of a small observer mission for the elections there. We were asked to go for the first round and then for the second round, but the first round was so chaotic and impossibly badly run, so corrupt, that we decided not to return for the second round.

Egypt is a country where for 30 or so years a dictator, in the person of Mubarak, has assumed absolute power in a particularly brutal, tyrannous and arbitrary rule and, while we all recognise the extraordinary evolution on the streets of Egypt, we also recognise in Mubarak’s reaction somebody who feels he has got support, not only in Egypt but elsewhere.

Now, we recognise too that the European Union does not have the Sixth Fleet. We are only capable of projecting moral power, so when Baroness Ashton spoke, very softly, at the beginning of this debate, she unfortunately did not carry a big stick as well. So we have to speak softly, yes, but also with one voice and I think the problem for Europe at the moment is that it is not speaking with one voice at the level of Cathy Ashton and other leaders.

This has been referred to earlier – the prime ministers of Britain, France and Germany issuing separate statements. Let us speak together. Let us get it absolutely straight where we stand – in support of democracy and human rights, not only in Europe but around the world, and especially at this time in the Mediterranean.

  Franziska Katharina Brantner (Verts/ALE). - Herr Präsident! Liebe Frau Ashton, ich möchte die Aufforderung an Sie wiederholen, uns die Liste der Empfänger von EU-Geldern in diesen Ländern mitzuteilen. Es gibt begründete Befürchtungen, dass der Familienclan von Ben Ali und seine Unternehmen auch von EU-Geldern profitieren.

Ich glaube, wir brauchen eine Aufarbeitung unserer eigenen Arbeit in dieser Region, eine Klärung der Verwendung unserer Gelder und eine klare Umsteuerung. Für diese klare Umsteuerung braucht es auch als allererstes in Tunesien einen neuen Delegationschef. Ich würde Ihnen gerne vorlesen, was er heute in einer E-Mail an uns geschrieben hat:

La stratégie européenne en Tunisie n'a pas besoin d'être revue. On aura plus de liberté dans nos choix d'interlocuteurs et de partenaires, mais les secteurs d'intervention et nos accords avec le pays s'avèrent encore plus pertinents aujourd'hui.

I think it is incredible that the Head of Delegation writes that we do not have to review our policies vis-à-vis Tunisia. I call on you to take the responsibility to change the Head of the Delegation.

If I may add one point concerning what was mentioned by Ms De Keyser; I think it is also time for you to support women in transition. For example, why not hold a big conference with your support where you go and support women for transition, highlighting their role and supporting them in order to strengthen and underline the laic and secular process in these countries. That could be a feminist agenda for you.

(Applause)

  Mirosław Piotrowski (ECR). - Panie Przewodniczący! Masowe protesty w Tunezji i w Egipcie, a szczególnie w strategicznie ważnym Egipcie, absorbują uwagę wszystkich sił politycznych na świecie. Możliwe są różne scenariusze: od pokojowego przejęcia władzy przez siły pro-demokratyczne, aż do gospodarczego chaosu i wybuchu konfliktu zbrojnego, nie wykluczając nawet użycia broni nuklearnej.

Sytuacja jest dynamiczna i trudna do przewidzenia. Społeczeństwa arabskie pozbawione przez lata podstawowych praw, takich jak wolność słowa czy uczestnictwo w wolnych wyborach, są zdeterminowane zmienić władzę za wszelką cenę. Parlament Europejski powinien znaleźć wspólne stanowisko i podjąć działania, aby nie doszło do destabilizacji w całym regionie. Nie możemy zapominać o uchwalonej niedawno przez naszą Izbę rezolucji w sprawie prześladowania chrześcijan, która dotyczyła także Egiptu. Powinniśmy zastanowić się nad podjęciem bardziej konkretnych kroków i wysłać do Egiptu misję obserwacyjną.

  Willy Meyer (GUE/NGL). - Señor Presidente, señora Ashton, la Unión Europea tiene que revisar su política de vecindad, porque es verdad que hemos dado la impresión de estar más preocupados por alcanzar acuerdos de libre comercio que en el desarrollo de los pueblos y de sus derechos humanos. El problema, señora Ashton, no es la posición que tiene la Unión Europea hoy ante los regímenes de Ben Alí o de Mubarak, sino cuál era la posición de la Unión Europea antes de ayer, que ni estaba ni se la esperaba en relación con los cambios que han demandado los pueblos en la calle.

Este es el problema que tiene que resolver la Unión Europea: que ni estamos ni se nos espera en los cambios que exigen los pueblos, no solamente en Túnez, sino en Marruecos, en Egipto, en Jordania, en Yemen; una cantidad ingente de pueblos que no resisten más la autocracia y que no resisten más una crisis que golpea especialmente a los más débiles. Esta es la revisión que tiene que hacer la Unión Europea, que tiene que estar a la altura de las circunstancias modificando la orientación de su política de vecindad.

  Bastiaan Belder (EFD). - Het is niet verwonderlijk dat de enerverende politieke gebeurtenissen in Tunesië en Egypte in de islamitische republiek Iran op de voet worden gevolgd. Zowel regering als oppositie steunen daarbij de stem van de straat. En, interessant genoeg, beiden claimen deze Arabische volksopstand. Het Iranese regime begroet de aankomst van de revolutionaire golf, die in 1979 in eigen land aanving en zich nu in de Arabische wereld manifesteert, en de Iranese oppositie beschouwt zichzelf als instigator van het massale volksprotest in Tunis en Cairo.

Met de dreigende afbraak van het pragmatische Arabische kamp in het Midden-Oosten, geeft het Iranese leiderschap intussen meer reden tot optimisme dan de oppositie. Voor dit gevaar mag de Europese Unie niet de ogen sluiten. Want een radicalisering van de Arabische wereld gaat bepaald niet gepaard met een waardig bestaan waarnaar de Tunesische en Egyptische betogers terecht zeggen te verlangen. De islamitische republiek Iran is allerminst een model, wel een stopteken.

  Philip Claeys (NI). - Wat nu gebeurt in landen als Tunesië en Egypte is van zeer grote betekenis. Het volk komt in opstand tegen dictatoriale despoten en dat is een goede zaak.

De grote vraag is natuurlijk wat er in de plaats komt. Want er bestaat zoiets als de paradox van de democratisering in de islamitische wereld, waarbij meer democratie vaak leidt tot meer islamisme, wat dan op zijn beurt leidt tot minder democratie. Natuurlijk moeten wij vanuit Europa steun geven aan het democratische proces. Alleen moet deze steun terechtkomen bij échte democratische krachten en het mag nooit de bedoeling zijn dat een organisatie als het moslimbroederschap met steun van de EU een theocratische dictatuur zou kunnen vestigen in Egypte. Dan krijgen wij namelijk in de hele regio situaties zoals wij die nu kennen in Iran.

Laten wij dus voorzichtig zijn in de keuze van onze partners. Tot voor een paar weken trouwens was Ben Ali en zijn partij nog lid van de socialistische internationale. Nu de wind gekeerd is wordt hij er plots uitgegooid. Welnu, collega's, wees voorzichtig in de toekomst, wees voorzichtig in de keuze van partners en spreid niet het bedje van de islamisten.

  Hans-Gert Pöttering (PPE). - Herr Präsident, Frau Hohe Beauftragte, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Unsere Antwort auf die Ereignisse in der arabischen Welt muss sich aus unserem Menschenbild ergeben. Jeder Mensch, ob Moslem, Jude, Christ oder ohne Bekenntnis, hat die gleiche Würde und das gleiche Recht, in Würde zu leben. Und wenn dies richtig ist, dann ergibt sich daraus das Recht für die Menschen in den arabischen Ländern, in Freiheit, in einer Demokratie und in einer die Würde des Menschen achtenden Lebensordnung zu leben.

Deswegen ist es heute unsere Pflicht, unsere Verantwortung und unsere wichtige Aufgabe für die Zukunft, den Menschen in der arabischen Welt, die friedlich für Freiheit und Demokratie eintreten, zu sagen, wir stehen solidarisch an eurer Seite. Wir sind solidarisch mit den friedlichen Moslems in der arabischen Welt.

(Beifall)

Wir haben einmal den Fehler gemacht, dass wir im Verhältnis zum totalitären Kommunismus die Augen zugedrückt haben, weil wir sagten, wir brauchen Stabilität. Diesen Fehler dürfen wir heute nicht machen, denn zur Stabilität gehören die Freiheit und die Demokratie, und das sollten wir unterstützen.

Wenn das nun stimmt, was wir in diesen Stunden hören – ich wusste das vorher nicht, dass in Kairo geschossen wird, und bisher war ja die Armee sowohl in Tunesien wie auch in Ägypten zurückhaltend –, dass sich die Armee mit Gewalt durchsetzt, dann kann das immer nur für eine kurze Zeit sein. In Europa hatten wir 1953 den Aufstand in der DDR, 1956 in Ungarn, 1968 in der Tschechoslowakei, und dann kam Solidarność.

Am Ende wird die Freiheit sich durchsetzen, und deswegen müssen wir allen, die heute Gewalt ausüben, sagen: Hört auf zu schießen und gebt den Menschen die Freiheit durch freie Wahlen. Das sollten wir mit Rat und Tat, mit aller Kraft unterstützen, auch als Europäisches Parlament.

  Hannes Swoboda (S&D). - Herr Präsident! Frau Hohe Beauftragte! Es gibt Leute, die sagen, aus der Geschichte kann man nicht lernen, aber dennoch sollten wir es versuchen. Bezüglich des Zwischenrufs zum Iran – und der Kollege Cohn-Bendit hat ja schon einige Antworten darauf gegeben – möchte ich nochmals darauf hinweisen, wie es damals gelaufen ist im Iran. Wir haben ein schmutziges Regime unterstützt. Wir haben die Sawak-Polizei, die damals gegen Leute vorgegangen ist und Menschen gefoltert hat, mehr oder weniger geduldet. Und Amerika und auch Großbritannien haben Mossadek gestürzt, der eine friedliche Revolution wollte.

Wir sind heute schon ein bisschen weiter, aber wir sind noch nicht weit genug. Ich glaube, wir müssen ganz klar sagen – und da kann ich mich den Kollegen anschließen, die das bereits erwähnt haben –, dass wir auf der Seite der Leute stehen müssen, die diese Revolution begonnen und vorangetrieben haben. Und das waren eben nicht die Islamisten! Seien wir doch froh über diese große Chance, dass die Revolution nicht von den Islamisten ausgegangen ist, sondern von den Leuten auf der Straße, von den einfachen Bürgern, die mit dem sozialen Unrecht, mit der wirtschaftlichen Situation und mit dem Mangel an Demokratie unzufrieden waren. Das ist das, was dort geherrscht hat.

Frau Hohe Beauftragte und liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, seien wir doch selbstkritisch, ein Teil unserer Nachbarschaftsstrategie ist damit zusammengebrochen. Und ein Teil unserer Nachbarschaftsstrategie hat darauf beruht, dass es Stabilität gibt. Wir brauchen Frieden im Nahen Osten. Wir haben damit gerechnet, dass der Friede im Nahen Osten auf den Schultern der Diktaturen und der Diktatoren lebt und das ist nicht möglich und das ist nicht akzeptabel.

Daher müssen wir eine klare Meinung vertreten und eine klare Sprache sprechen. Dauerhaft ist der Friede im Nahen Osten nur, wenn er auf Demokratie beruht und nicht auf Diktaturen. Und daher, Frau Ashton, müssen wir laut unsere Meinung sagen. Ich weiß, Sie sind bekannt für das Sanfte, aber da stimme ich den Kolleginnen und Kollegen zu: laut und deutlich! Sie müssen so laut reden, dass wir manche Stimmen unserer Außenminister nicht hören, vielleicht manchmal auch so laut, dass man die Stimme von Hillary Clinton nicht hört, sondern die Stimme von Catherine Ashton. Das erwartet dieses Parlament. Nehmen Sie es auch als Vertrauensbeweis, dass wir von Ihnen erwarten, eine deutliche Sprache zu sprechen.

  Метин Казак (ALDE). - Протестите в Тунис и Египет, предизвикани от гнева и нетърпимостта към ширещата се безработица сред младите, бруталната полицейщина, корупцията и авторитаризма, незачитането на човешките права, свободата на словото и демократичните принципи са предизвикателства и пред останалите арабски страни, които вече искат промяна.

Събитията в Тунис, който беше смятан за оазис на стабилността и икономическата сигурност, приличат много на началото на разпада на съветския блок в Източна Европа. Те са искрата, която вещае колапса на арабския псевдо модел на стабилност и която ще задвижи демократичните промени в региона.

Исканията са ясни и народите на Тунис и Египет не биха се съгласили с половинчати мерки. Много от необходимите за прехода към демокрация условия, енергично и организирано гражданско общество, свободна преса, уважавани фигури от опозицията, както и съществуващи политически партии вече си пробиват път, но е необходима цялостна ревизия на досегашната ни външна политика, уважаема г-жо Аштън.

Европейският съюз следва да направи стратегически избор и баланс между политическите си и икономически интереси и демократичните ценности, които ни обединяват. Европа трябва да покаже, че застава твърдо зад демокрацията, а не просто подкрепя стабилността в региона, защото когато промяната настъпи, хората ще помнят кой е бил на тяхна страна и кой е подкрепял невъзможното вече статукво.

  Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE). - Mr President, 60 years ago revolution in the Arab world meant the end of European colonial rule. The second revolution in the Arab world is happening now in front of our eyes. This is the moment when the European Union has to choose whether it stands on the right side or on the wrong side of history.

The task is to help foster an independent civil society in the Arab world. Our budget in the EU must be reviewed to address the urgent needs of Tunisia, which has suffered from a 23-year-long autocracy.

The majority of the Tunisian people have no trust in this temporary, unelected government. A truth process in Tunisia is already beginning, but the European Union needs a truth process itself, so great has its negligence of human rights and democratic values been in the Arab world over the years. This is truly the time for human rights.

  Ivo Strejček (ECR). - Mr President, I do not share the opinion that an ongoing uprising in Egypt is dominantly driven by forces longing for democracy of a European style. I see the current riots and chaos as a revolution for change that is motivated by striving for a better life.

But the crucial question for us Europeans is the threat that the dramatic situation could be abused by radical Islamists. If there were such a dramatic political change, Europe, as well as America, would lose a moderate Arabic ally and the Egypt peace treaty would be endangered. Egypt can quickly and easily turn into a regime that is hostile to Europe, Israel and America and become close to Hamas. The position of the EU should stay firmly on the side of those who are striving for freedom and who relentlessly support free elections.

  Τάκης Χατζηγεωργίου (GUE/NGL). - Κύριε Πρόεδρε, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι είναι φανερό ότι η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία του Κοινοβουλίου υποστηρίζει την εξέγερση των Αιγυπτίων και αυτό είναι βέβαια πολύ σωστό, πλην ελαχίστων εξαιρέσεων όπως αυτή που ακούσαμε μόλις τώρα. Όμως, νομίζω, και θα πρέπει να συμφωνήσετε μαζί μου, ότι πολιτική σημαίνει να είναι κανείς έγκαιρος και καίριος και πιστεύω ότι όλοι εμείς εδώ πρέπει να παραδεχθούμε ότι δεν είδαμε αυτό που συνέβαινε στην Αίγυπτο, τις τελευταίες αυτές δεκαετίες.

Πού ήμασταν εμείς όλοι, όταν δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια από τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες διοχετεύονταν στην Αίγυπτο για υποστήριξη αυτού του καθεστώτος; Είμαστε υπέρ του λαού της Αιγύπτου που εξεγείρεται για τα δικαιώματά του στην ευημερία, στην υγεία, στην εκπαίδευση. Για αυτό το λόγο πρέπει το Κοινοβούλιο να συνεχίσει ομόθυμα την υποστήριξή του. Θα πρέπει να αναφέρω ότι σε αυτή τη διαδικασία πρέπει να έχουμε έγνοια τους Παλαιστίνιους, ώστε να μην θυματοποιηθεί ο παλαιστινιακός λαός. Εμείς, εκπροσωπώντας εδώ και την Κύπρο, μια γειτονική χώρα της Αιγύπτου παρακολουθούμε τα γεγονότα με περισσή έγνοια και υποστηρίζουμε, επαναλαμβάνω, τα δικαιώματα του αιγυπτιακού λαού σε αυτή την εξέγερση.

  Lorenzo Fontana (EFD). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signora Ashton, è sicuramente auspicabile, come ho sentito da molti, che si possa arrivare a un futuro di democrazia nel Nord Africa, una democrazia come quella che abbiamo in Europa.

Però abbiamo anche dei pericoli e non possiamo nasconderceli. Ricordiamo tutti l'attentato che c'è stato sotto Natale nei confronti dei cristiani copti proprio in Egitto. Il nostro timore, signora Ashton, è proprio quello che magari un giorno si possa arrivare ad avere una dittatura islamica nel Nord Africa.

Quindi, da questo punto di vista l'Europa deve assolutamente essere il cane da guardia per evitare che ci siano un giorno dei paesi ostili nel Nord Africa che – ricordiamocelo bene – hanno anche numerosi rapporti commerciali con i nostri territori. Sicuramente, in questo periodo di crisi economica, questa destabilizzazione non farà piacere alla nostra economia. Inoltre, non dobbiamo dimenticarci che, anche a livello di immigrazione, questa destabilizzazione provocherà sicuramente delle ripercussioni, soprattutto nei paesi del Sud dell'Europa.

Pertanto chiedo alla Commissione europea e all'Alto rappresentante che vigilino su queste cose.

  Barry Madlener (NI). - Mevrouw Ashton, wees toch niet zo naïef. En mijnheer Guy Verhofstadt, wees dat ook niet. De moslimbroeders willen immers de sharia en de sharia is geen democratie.

De belangrijkste oppositiepartij, de moslimbroeders, wil oorlog tegen Israël. Mevrouw Ashton, ik hoor u daar met geen woord over. U hangt hier de naïeveling uit die roept om een betere toekomst voor Egypte, maar u weigert de gevaren uit te spreken die de islam kent. Want islam en democratie gaan niet samen.

Ik wil dat u dat uitspreekt, want ik wil geen naïeve mevrouw Ashton, die met de verkeerde boodschap naar Egypte gaat. Mevrouw Ashton, zie de gevaren die Egypte en ons wachten en spreek dit uit. Waarschuw de Egyptische bevolking dat de sharia onheil betekent, onheil voor ons allemaal.

(De spreker verklaart zich bereid een "blauwe kaart"-vraag krachtens artikel 149, lid 8, van het Reglement te beantwoorden)

  Nirj Deva (ECR). - Mr President, the question I wanted to ask the honourable Member was: how can democracy flourish in societies where there are no institutions and histories of democratic tradition?

Democracy does not just pop up in an unfertile field. We keep talking about creating democratic states without having worked on creating the democratic institutions upon which democracy flowers.

  Barry Madlener (NI). - Ik kan het alleen maar eens zijn met de vragensteller. Natuurlijk kan dat niet zomaar ontstaan, maar toch zie ik geen ander alternatief voor Egypte, want ik kan niet iemand aanwijzen in Egypte die dan de leiding maar moet nemen. Het zijn toch de Egyptenaren zelf die hun leiders moeten kiezen.

Wij kunnen die Egyptenaren wél oproepen niet voor de moslimbroederschap te kiezen, maar voor seculiere leiders.

  Mario Mauro (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signora baronessa Ashton, non sono mai stato particolarmente tenero nei suoi confronti, però devo riconoscere che la storia fa di tutto per complicarle la vita e, in questo senso, spero che le cose che dirò possano aiutarla.

La prima cosa che intendo dire con molta chiarezza è che gli Stati sono garanti, non sono padroni della vita dei propri cittadini. Quando i governi da garanti si fanno padroni cessa l'esperienza dei governi e comincia quella dei regimi. Questo è ciò che è accaduto in Tunisia e in Egitto, perché esperienze politiche cominciate con l'idealità profonda della conquista dell'indipendenza erano regimi da molti anni. Noi abbiamo il compito di difendere la libertà e la democrazia nei cuori di coloro che la stanno oggi difendendo nelle piazze.

La seconda questione che osservo riguarda noi, riguarda l'Unione europea. Noi dobbiamo ammettere di non avere una strategia politica per la regione euromediterranea e questo comporta un giudizio sul fallimento del processo di Barcellona e dell'Union pour la Méditerranée. Sono finzioni, sono cioè attività politiche di tipo ludico che non servono e non hanno realizzato nulla. In questo senso dobbiamo essere perentori: quella strategia dobbiamo cominciare ad averla, dobbiamo pensarla e dobbiamo realizzarla, come abbiamo fatto nell'interesse dell'Est dell'Europa e come abbiamo fatto, tirati per i capelli, anche nell'interesse dei Balcani. Senza quella strategia non conterà nulla parlare con una voce sola, perché in realtà parleremo per non dire nulla.

  Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signora Ashton, io ho l'impressione che non vi sia ancora da parte sua un'adeguata consapevolezza di ciò che sta avvenendo nell'area mediterranea. Devo dirle che solo la mancanza di una percezione della realtà, capace di cogliere il vento dei cambiamenti, può spiegare il ritardo con il quale le istituzioni europee hanno affrontato la questione mediterranea.

Si sta chiudendo una fase politica e storica che ha visto l'Europa praticare una politica confusa e controproducente verso il Sud. La crisi economica, il difficile sbocco migratorio e l'assenza del ricambio delle classi dirigenti hanno costituito una miscela esplosiva che oggi interessa Tunisia e Egitto ma che, come è prevedibile, si allargherà agli altri paesi.

Rivolgendomi anche ad alcuni colleghi, dico che non ce la caviamo se pensiamo che sostanzialmente dobbiamo sostenere solo e semplicemente le manifestazioni in corso. L'Europa deve mostrarsi politicamente più adulta. Per questo bisogna risintonizzare le antenne politiche di questa Europa. È necessario che la politica estera europea esca da uno stato di semiclandestinità e diventi protagonista sulla scena internazionale nell'accompagnare i processi di transizione democratica in corso.

In particolare servono alcune politiche chiare: una nuova politica di partenariato e vicinato, una nuova politica di sicurezza nell'area mediterranea, una diversa disponibilità europea, di tutta l'Europa, ad affrontare la questione mediterranea, un'azione multipolare che veda l'Europa agire in quell'area con altri soggetti, dagli Stati Uniti alla Turchia.

È necessario sostanzialmente cambiare rotta e, da questo punto di vista, ci vorrebbe un atto di grande umiltà da parte della Commissione nell'aprire un dibattito nuovo sulla politica estera verso il Mediterraneo, riaffrontando la questione dell'Unione per il Mediterraneo, ma nello stesso tempo per garantire che l'Europa sia presente lì. Questo è essenziale per l'Europa e bisogna esserne pienamente consapevoli.

IN THE CHAIR: DIANA WALLIS
Vice-President

  Marielle De Sarnez (ALDE). - Madame la Présidente, le monde bouge et le monde change et, en particulier, le monde arabe où, on doit le rappeler, 40 % de la population vit en dessous du seuil de pauvreté et où les jeunes ont le plus fort taux de chômage au monde.

Les peuples arabes aspirent au développement et à la démocratie, l'un n'étant pas séparable de l'autre, et en Tunisie comme en Égypte, ces peuples ont pris leur destin en main pour imposer le changement auquel ils ont droit. Et ce mouvement-là, malgré toutes les provocations, comme nous l'avons vu encore aujourd'hui au Caire, malgré toutes les difficultés, rien ni personne ne l'arrêtera.

À propos de la Tunisie hier, et de l'Égypte aujourd'hui, il y a une voix que l'on a entendue, c'est celle des États-Unis, qui se sont résolument placés du côté des démocrates. Moi, je crois en l'Europe, mais je crois aussi qu'elle ne fait sens que si elle aussi se place résolument toujours du côté des démocrates, et j'aurais rêvé et aimé que cette Europe-là soit à ce rendez-vous là! Elle ne l'a pas été. Pas seulement de votre fait, mais aussi à cause de la frilosité de ses dirigeants, qui préfèrent trop souvent l'immobilité au mouvement.

Plus de vingt ans après la chute du mur, nous vivons un changement historique. Je vous conjure d'en prendre la mesure pour ne pas manquer ce rendez-vous avec l'histoire du monde.

  Derk Jan Eppink (ECR). - Madam President, everything I wanted to say has in fact already been said, so I will limit myself to one question to the High Representative.

Today Mr Blair, the former British Prime Minister, whom you probably know, had a lot of praise for the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Today on CNN he said, ‘Mubarak is immensely courageous and a force for good’. Mr Blair also warns against a rush to elections in Egypt.

Now Mr Blair is currently envoy in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which is supported by the European Union. What do you think about the statements of Tony Blair?

  Gerard Batten (EFD). - Madam President, the great danger for Egypt and the other North African countries is, of course, that the overthrow of their governments will not usher in Western-style liberal democracy but rather Islamic fundamentalist rule and a new dark age, such as we saw in Iran.

Nevertheless, there is a certain satisfaction to be derived from the prospect of oppressed peoples overthrowing their undemocratic and unrepresentative governments. All governments, even tyrannies, ultimately derive their power from the consent of the people that they govern. And you can repress people for so long and so much, but there is always the possibility that they will rebel.

Now there is a parallel here with Britain, where successive governments of all political colours have consistently betrayed our country and surrendered our rights of democratic self-determination to the European Union. Under Magna Carta, the English have the right of lawful rebellion. I wonder just how far they will have to be pushed before they are driven out on the streets like the Egyptians.

  Andrew Henry William Brons (NI). - Madam President, we should all applaud the fall or impending fall of repressive regimes, but perhaps only when we know – or are pretty certain about – who or what is likely to replace them.

Tunisia, like Iraq and Egypt, was a politically repressive regime even by Middle Eastern standards, but it was also, by Middle Eastern standards, a secular, even socially liberal, one. There is a danger that a socially liberal autocracy might be replaced by a socially repressive autocracy or even a socially repressive democracy.

Those who expect a cosy and civilised transfer of power in all or any of these countries might think again. If we should see civil wars, atrocities and the destruction of the economies of these countries, we might give good advice and our populations might send aid, but I hope that we do not regard it as our job to send our troops there to be killed. It is certainly not our job to rescue the populations of these countries and bring them into Europe.

  Mário David (PPE). - O Mundo, e a Europa em particular, não podem ficar indiferentes à força de um intenso movimento de contestação popular que está a ocorrer em vários países do Norte de África e do Médio Oriente, nem deixar de reconhecer a importância e a legitimidade dessas manifestações. Qualquer povo que aspira à democracia e à liberdade só pode receber da nossa parte toda a solidariedade, como fizemos, aliás, no passado recente com os nossos amigos do Leste Europeu.

Vivemos actualmente um raro momento da História, daqueles que mudam o seu curso e que constroem novas realidades. É preciso afirmar, objectivamente, que o islamismo extremista tem surgido como uma resposta política, e não religiosa, a alguns destes problemas, alimentado pela exclusão social e como resposta a esta. O futuro desta região precisa de democracias sólidas, tolerantes e respeitadoras das minorias, onde o Estado seja uma promessa para todos e não o abuso de alguns.

Aqui ao lado há uma parte do mundo que tem que aproveitar este momento de renascimento para aprofundar um caminho de paz e de progresso social. Provar que nesta região vizinha, independentemente da sua confissão religiosa, opção política, ou etnia, todos podem coabitar em paz e com respeito mútuo.

É preciso, e termino Senhora Presidente, que a Europa no seu todo, e não apenas alguns líderes em conjunto ou isoladamente - em português diz-se, Senhora Alta Representante, "é difícil ser-se pároco na sua freguesia" -, assuma um papel claro de liderança política na ajuda a estas reformas e encontre para o Médio Oriente um novo paradigma, sem radicalismo, no respeito pelos direitos humanos, e das mulheres em particular.

  Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D). - Op dit eigenste moment zijn er gewelddadige confrontaties aan de gang tussen betogers pro- en anti-Mubarak. Wij moeten een duidelijk signaal geven aan Mubarak en een oproep doen aan zijn medestanders om daar onmiddellijk weg te trekken en onnodig bloedvergieten te vermijden.

Wat zich afspeelt in Egypte heeft ons allemaal verrast. Wij moeten dit benaderen als een ongelooflijke opportuniteit en een kans om deze regio na jaren van politieke en economische stagnatie te doen evolueren naar een echte democratie met kansen voor iedereen. Ik denk daarbij in eerste instantie aan de miljoenen jongeren die snakken naar meer vrijheid en de mogelijkheid om zich te ontwikkelen. De impact daarvan kan niet worden onderschat. Sommigen spreken van een 1989 voor de Arabische wereld, maar dat zal dus moeten blijken.

De Europese Unie mag wat meer voluntarisme aan de dag leggen om dat transitieproces een stevige duw in de rug te geven en ik had natuurlijk graag - en dat is al gezegd door anderen - u als enige aan het woord gehoord ter zake. Wij moeten heel snel duidelijk maken dat dat transitieproces nù moet starten en dat Mubarak duidelijk niet meer de legitimiteit heeft om dit te leiden of te sturen.

Er moet dus zo snel mogelijk een kalender, een duidelijke agenda worden opgesteld van maatregelen en hervormingen die moeten leiden tot de eerste vrije en de eerste transparante verkiezingen in september dit jaar. Dat betekent bijvoorbeeld een wijziging van de grondwet, een wijziging van de kieswet, een wijziging van hoe media omgaan met politiek, zodanig dat alle kandidaten zich kunnen voorstellen aan de bevolking.

Alle democratische krachten moeten zo snel mogelijk rond de tafel worden gebracht om dit in goede banen te leiden en Europa moet daar een positieve en constructieve rol bij spelen.

Tegelijkertijd moeten wij ons ook bewust zijn van de complexiteit. Het leger bijvoorbeeld wordt gewaardeerd omwille van zijn matigende en beslissende rol. Het krijgt daarvoor veel lof, maar is tegelijkertijd economisch een zeer belangrijke speler. En als wij dus écht democratische hervormingen willen doorvoeren zullen ook economische hervormingen nodig zijn, en dat zal niet eenvoudig worden.

  Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (ALDE). - Ik luister met grote belangstelling naar de mededeling van mevrouw de Hoge vertegenwoordiger en van de collega's. Velen hebben gezegd dat zij totaal verrast waren door hetgeen zich voordoet in Tunesië en in Egypte. Ik veroorloof mij te zeggen dat dergelijke uitspraken mij verbazen, omdat wij eigenlijk toch wel wisten dat dit nu niet bepaald democratische regimes zijn, dat dit eerder autoritaire tot zeer autoritaire regimes zijn die hun bevolking onder de knoet hielden.

Wij hebben gekozen om dat niet frontaal aan te pakken, omdat wij dachten dat dit de beste manier was om stabiliteit in de regio en in heel het Middellandse Zeegebied te garanderen. Maar andermaal is gebleken dat het steunen van autoritaire en corrupte regimes omwille van de stabiliteit en om chaos te voorkomen, meestal eindigt met instabiliteit, met chaos en zonder grote kansen voor de toekomst.

Ik hoop dat wij verstandig zullen zijn en op een verstandige manier het democratiseringsproces zullen ondersteunen. Ik zou daarbij bijzondere aandacht willen vragen voor steun aan de diverse politieke partijen, zowel in Tunesië als in Egypte. Dat zijn zwakke partijen. Die hebben tijdens de voorbije jaren nauwelijks de kans gehad om zich te structureren, die zullen alle hulp nodig hebben om hun rol te kunnen spelen bij wat hopelijk eerlijke verkiezingen en verkiezingen op korte termijn zullen worden.

  Geoffrey Van Orden (ECR). - Madam President, the particular point I want to make is that on too many occasions we have seen the sanctuary of our free societies in the West abused by extremists who eventually return to their home countries, hostile to our values and bearing revolution. Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of the return to Iran from Paris of Ayatollah Khomeini. We know where that has led.

Rachid Ghannouchi, who has advocated the annihilation of the state of Israel, has just returned to Tunisia after two decades in London. He regards the leadership of the Palestinian Authority as illegitimate; he supports Hamas. Hamas, of course, is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the one well organised political group in Egypt. Such organisations build their power base by responding to the everyday needs of the people and they then consolidate their power through terror.

We must take stronger measures to prevent the incubation of extremism in our own capitals and do more to reach out to legitimate civil society in places like Egypt and Tunisia with well focused assistance, including well controlled financial assistance.

  Vito Bonsignore (PPE). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, condivido quanto hanno detto in precedenza i miei colleghi del PPE. Mi preme tuttavia sottolineare che i recenti avvenimenti accaduti nel Mediterraneo hanno generato in tutti noi un profondo stupore, visto che fino a poche settimane fa non erano stati per nulla previsti.

Il Servizio di azione esterna guidato dalla baronessa Ashton sembra essere stato colto di sorpresa e ora dimostra, a mio giudizio, una debole capacità di azione. Mi domando, a questo punto, se valga la pena spendere così tante risorse per un servizio così com'è oggi organizzato. Ancora una volta ci troviamo a rilevare la totale assenza della dimensione europea nello scacchiere euromediterraneo.

Noi difendiamo il diritto di tutti i popoli ad autodeterminare il proprio governo, la propria classe dirigente, attraverso elezioni libere e democratiche e non attraverso azioni imposte da violenti ed estremisti. È tempo, come è stato detto, che la stabilità sia coniugata con la democrazia. Oggi operiamo quindi con ogni mezzo lecito per rafforzare la democrazia e il pluralismo politico nel rispetto dello Stato di diritto, dei diritti umani e della sicurezza dei cittadini.

Il mondo intero, e noi europei per primi, abbiamo bisogno più che mai di un Mediterraneo pacificato. L'Unione europea deve cambiare la propria politica, deve adoperarsi senza più indugi per assicurare aiuti e collaborazioni adeguate per il necessario sviluppo socioeconomico di tutti i paesi del Mediterraneo.

  Carmen Romero López (S&D). - Señora Presidenta, Señorías, los demócratas de Túnez nos han dado una lección ejemplar y de madurez en estos momentos. Por eso, con esta tensión que estamos viviendo y ante la masacre se está produciendo en Egipto, queremos que haya una sola voz en la Unión Europea, para que realmente podamos parar esta masacre y para que estos vientos de libertad supongan de verdad un cambio profundo hacia la democracia, también en Egipto.

Pero en el caso de Túnez aún estamos a tiempo. Aquí, en el Parlamento, mañana votamos una resolución —va a haber una delegación en el país— y nuestro apoyo, nuestro aval democrático, también es muy importante en estos momentos, sobre todo en Túnez, después en Egipto, y en todos estos países que están demandando más libertad.

Pero podemos hacer todavía muchas cosas, porque el colapso económico que suponen una ruptura y una revolución de esta naturaleza debe tener el menor coste posible. Hay demasiados enemigos que quieren hacer de Túnez, por ejemplo, un modelo diferente al que todos nosotros deseamos. Túnez se ha convertido en un modelo, y realmente estamos viviendo el fin de una era poscolonial y el comienzo de su verdadera independencia.

Por eso, la situación económica de Túnez permite pensar que —además de las ayudas que la señora Ashton ha mencionado— es posible que haya una toma de posición del Banco Central Europeo para no dejar caer una experiencia que puede ser vital para el futuro del Mediterráneo. Es necesario que esa decisión se tome con una cierta urgencia.

  Marietje Schaake (ALDE). - Madam President, right now, as we stand here, citizens in Egypt are being trapped and attacked in Tahrir Square and the army and the police are reportedly attacking instead of protecting. In their peaceful protests Egyptians of diverse backgrounds ask for respect for human rights and democracy, political reform and good governance, and socio-economic development.

Perhaps these demands sound familiar to you as they are precisely the goals of EU programmes in the Middle East, and in Egypt specifically. The Commission alone has spent a total of almost EUR 3 billion on this in the past 15 years. As the people’s demands are already in line with our policy objectives, why is it so difficult to make a strong EU statement quickly?

The need for a strong, proactive Europe is more urgent than ever. As the sun of freedom and democracy rises over the Middle East, clouds of division are hampering European unity and the ability to take responsibility. I urge you to look at what is happening as we speak and to act in unequivocal support of the people. Their rights and the EU’s credibility are tied.

Another phenomenon consistently present in the relations between people and dictatorships is communication and information technologies. The Tunisian Government ranked among the most severe users of censorship, surveillance and filter technologies to repress citizens. European companies, such as Vodafone and French Telecom, have had a strong presence in Egypt and in killing the connections by flipping the switch and shutting Egypt down. I would like to see an inquiry into the role that European companies played in the violations of human rights by hampering free expression, a free press and access to information and creating an environment in which human rights violations could go undocumented.

  Tomasz Piotr Poręba (ECR). - Pani Przewodnicząca, Szanowna Wysoka Przedstawiciel! Moim zdaniem Unia Europejska w stosunkach z Tunezją i z Egiptem popełniła w przeszłości kilka błędów. Tak było w przypadku relacji z Tunezją, kiedy w 2009 r. milczeliśmy po wygranych wyborach prezydenckich Ben Alego. Dla przypomnienia dodam, że uzyskał on 90% poparcia, a wybory nie były ani wolne, ani demokratyczne. Podobnie było, gdy w Tunezji zreformowano kodeks karny, który położył kres działalności i aktywności organizacji pozarządowych czy organizacji obrońców praw człowieka. Dzisiaj na taką politykę bierności, braku aktywności w kontekście działalności europejskiej w regionie Afryki Północnej nie możemy sobie pozwolić. Bez naszej aktywnej roli i determinacji w przywracaniu stabilizacji w regionie będzie bardzo trudno ją osiągnąć. Tylko nasza aktywna i zdeterminowana postawa wobec wydarzeń w Afryce Północnej może przywrócić rządy poszanowania praw człowieka, wolności słowa i mediów w tych krajach. Dziękuję bardzo.

  Cristian Dan Preda (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, Madame la Haute représentante, chers collègues, il y a un an, on discutait ici des relations de l'Union européenne avec la Tunisie et je disais, à l'époque, que les acquis sociaux dont les Tunisiens étaient si fiers devaient s'accompagner de progrès politiques.

Et on voit ces dernières semaines qu'il y a des progrès politiques au moins dans le sens où la révolte naissante est l'expression très claire et nette du désir de liberté. Pour l'Égypte, c'est pareil, même si on est en plein développement. On ne sait pas quelle sera l'issue et demain, il y aura certainement d'autres endroits qui montreront d'une manière tout aussi claire ce désir de liberté.

En même temps, comme on a pu le constater ce soir, certains d'entre nous craignent que ce vent de liberté ne conduise pas nécessairement à la laïcité ou au maintien de la laïcité, à la modération et à la stabilité. Je crois qu'il faut être conscient du fait qu'il est possible, justement, que dans les semaines, dans les années à venir, cette région ne connaisse pas des régimes politiques qui soient en même temps stables, inspirés par la liberté ou par la modération. Cela est parfaitement possible, et je crois qu'on doit être préparés à cette éventualité aussi.

Dans ce sens-là, j'encouragerai la Haute représentante à replacer peut-être la stratégie de l'Union sur la trajectoire déjà esquissée par la Commission en 2005 dans son rapport pour le sommet de Barcelone.

  Kader Arif (S&D). - Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, jusqu'à maintenant, j'avais l'intuition que les peuples étaient toujours en avance sur leurs élites politiques. J'en ai aujourd'hui la certitude. Permettez-moi tout d'abord de saluer le courage et la détermination des peuples tunisien et égyptien. Ils nous ont rappelé que les valeurs dont nous sommes porteurs dans le monde – droits de l'homme et démocratie – ne sont pas des valeurs réservées à l'Occident, comme certains le proclament, mais que ce sont des valeurs universelles partagées par tous.

L'Europe, à mes yeux, ne peut plus continuer à se fourvoyer dans cette partie du monde, louvoyant de fausses analyses en faux projets. Ces peuples attendent de nous une réponse à la hauteur de leur courage et de leurs aspirations. Ce n'est pas une demande de charité, certainement une demande de solidarité, mais plus encore une demande de responsabilité. Dans cette période incertaine, personne ne souhaite le chaos, mais personne ne doit plus accepter le statu quo.

Nous devons accompagner l'espoir créé par ces événements en Tunisie et en Égypte pour contribuer à l'affirmation et à la mise en place de démocraties bénéfiques pour ces pays et leur population, mais aussi bénéfiques pour nous-mêmes, et je crois, Madame Ashton, que vous avez exprimé cela avec force.

Je conclus en reprenant ce qu'un poète disait: "Le monde sommeille par manque d'imprudence." Ces peuples, à raison, ont été imprudents pour demander leur liberté, mais j'espère surtout qu'ils auront éveillé nos consciences.

  Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE). - Frau Präsidentin, Frau Ashton! Ich würde Ihnen zurufen: Seien Sie etwas mutiger. Fahren Sie vor dem Außenministerrat nach Kairo. Sprechen Sie dort mit den Regierungsvertretern und mit der Opposition, kommen Sie zurück nach Brüssel und erklären Sie dann Ihren Kollegen, was Sie dort gesehen und gehört haben. Setzen Sie die Agenda und hören Sie sich nicht 27 verschiedene Meinungen an, aus denen es dann sehr schwierig ist, etwas zu machen.

Wenn Hugues Mingarelli nach Tunis fährt – was ich sehr gut finde –, erzählen Sie es so, dass wir es mitkriegen und dass die Öffentlichkeit mitkriegt, dass Europa präsent ist. Ich habe zuerst erfahren, dass der Amerikaner da ist, und dann erst gehört, dass Mingarelli auch vor Ort ist. Sie sind die europäische Außenministerin, ich würde Ihnen wirklich raten, machen Sie das – einerseits. Andererseits müssen Sie als europäische Außenministerin auch nicht durch jeden Reifen springen, den man Ihnen hinhält.

Hier ist heute der Vergleich mit 1989 angestellt worden, und ich halte das für richtig. Ich finde, dass der Tahrir-Platz in Kairo 2011 ist, was der Alexanderplatz 1989 in Berlin war. Dort findet eine Revolution statt. Aber erinnern wir uns bitte einmal an die Revolution von 1989. Wir hatten dasselbe Dilemma. Wir wollten Freiheit, Stabilität und Demokratie, und wir verkennen dabei, dass dieser Prozess, der Übergang von einer stabilen Diktatur hin zu einer Demokratie, selten friedlich, selten geordnet und selten stabil abläuft. Insofern haben auch Diplomatie, Organisation und Vorsicht ihren Platz.

Das soll nicht davon ablenken, dass unsere Freude über diese Revolution groß ist. Es ist eine Revolution gegen die Diktatur und für die Freiheit. Ich glaube, dass Europa die Ordnung dieser Länder nicht diktieren kann. Dennoch muss unsere Freude klar sein, aber eines ist auch klar, selbst bei begrenztem Einfluss: Mit Herrn Mubarak ist sicher kein Staat zu machen. Mit der Gewalt heute auf dem Tahrir-Platz ist der letzte Rest an Legitimität für diesen Herrscher in Ägypten weg.

  Sajjad Karim (ECR). - Madam President, this moment has been a long time coming. It is being led by both the old and by those who have known nothing other than Mubarak in Egypt. Our response has been to say that Egypt should not be destabilised any further than it is; that the people of Egypt be delivered a government of their choice through their free will.

Well, that is right, but it is not enough. And then from the floor of the House today I hear warnings of an Islamic tsunami that is waiting to come and destroy us all.

All you do by putting forward those arguments, I am afraid, is argue for a totalitarian regime thinly disguised by a very thin layer of democracy, and you do not place any value on those people who have paid with blood and paid with their lives both in Tunisia and Egypt. They paid with their lives fighting for the freedom of their countrymen and they will not value your freedom any less. Those on the streets, despite being very large in number, are a vocal minority who actually represent an even larger silent majority.

High Representative, this is not a time for limp wrists. Have strength in your stride, send a clear message: Mubarak must go now.

  Simon Busuttil (PPE). - Sinjura President, M’hemmx dubju li l-Ewropa setgħet tagħmel ħafna aktar biex twassal lill-pajjiżi u lid-dinja Għarbija lejn id-demokrazija, iżda jekk hemm xi ħaġa pożittiva minn dawn l-avvenimenti drammatiċi li assistejna għalihom żgur li hija li kienu l-popli Għarab infushom li ħadu r-riedni f’idejhom biex is-sitwazzjoni tagħhom stess itejbuha huma stess.

Wara kollox l-istorja hija miżgħuda b’sitwazzjonijiet u b’interventi tal-pajjiżi tal-Punent li sfaw aktar ta’ dannu milli ta’ ġid f’dawn il-pajjiżi. Allura rridu nneħħu din l-idea li biex jirranġaw l-affarijiet bilfors li rridu mmorru aħna, niddettaw aħna u nippridkaw aħna. Dak li rridu nistaqsu llum huwa x’nistgħu nagħmlu minn issa ’l quddiem fid-dawl ta’ dak li seħħ.

Jien jidhirli li rridu nagħmlu żewġ affarijiet: l-ewwel nett irridu nidħlu bi ħġarna, bl-għajnuna tagħna, sabiex inkattru u nsaħħu l-ambjent demokratiku f’dawn il-pajjiżi, u b’mod partikulari l-istituzzjonijiet demokratiċi, sabiex ikunu jistgħu jiffjorixxu; u jiffjorixxu b’mod li l-estremisti u d-dittaturi ġodda jitwarrbu.

It-tieni nett irridu nistaqsu fejn żbaljajna. Irridu nistaqsu jekk il-politika Ewro-Mediterranja tagħna kinitx wisq paroli u xejn fatti. Fejn kienet l-Unjoni tal-Mediterran? L-Ewropa, irridu nistaqsu, jekk hijiex se tibqa’ tirreaġixxi minflok ma tibda taġixxi?

  Rosario Crocetta (S&D). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è ora che l'Europa si adoperi per dare un sostegno concreto al popolo tunisino e al suo governo di transizione e per rilanciare un dialogo euromediterraneo fortemente trascurato in questi anni.

L'esplosione della collera dei giovani e dei poveri del Maghreb e dell'Egitto nasce dall'iniqua distribuzione della ricchezza e dalle limitazioni all'esercizio delle libertà fondamentali. Il Nord Africa si infiamma e chiede più democrazia, più economia, più partecipazione e più lavoro e guarda con stupore al vecchio continente europeo, immobile e incapace di cogliere le trasformazioni sociali avvenute in quell'area e di sviluppare reali politiche di progresso e di pace.

L'Europa abbia più attenzione ai diritti dell'uomo e alla democrazia, favorisca più dialogo, più collaborazione e più interventi economici reali. L'Europa deve aprire le sue porte e il suo cuore al Nord Africa per fare del Mediterraneo un mare di pace. Basta con i rigetti di immigrati mediante la collaborazione violenta di paesi come la Libia! Sono necessari più investimenti, più accoglienza e più aiuti, e più politica euromediterranea. Ce lo chiede la storia.

  Zbigniew Ziobro (ECR). - Pani Przewodnicząca! Nie możemy porównywać sytuacji wewnętrznej Tunezji z tą w Egipcie. Masowe protesty miały podobne podłoże, jednak ich implikacje dla sytuacji międzynarodowej są całkowicie różne.

Oddolne zmiany w Tunezji spowodowane wyczerpaniem się społecznej akceptacji dla Ben Alego mogą być szansą na lepszą przyszłość tego kraju. O tyle z pewną ostrożnością trzeba podchodzić do oceny sytuacji w Egipcie. Hosni Mubarak, mimo feudalizacji państwa, dawał gwarancję stabilizacji Egiptu. Dziś obalenie go, przy jednoczesnym braku – co należy podkreślić – demokratycznej opozycji, która nie miała dotychczas warunków rozwoju, może popchnąć Egipt w objęcia – jak się wydaje – skrajnej formacji politycznej związanej z Bractwem Muzułmańskim. Warto jest się zastanowić nad międzynarodowymi konsekwencjami takiego rozwoju wydarzeń. Czy ewentualny sojusz z Hamasem, twarda polityka wobec Izraela, nasilenie prześladowań chrześcijan, zaostrzenie sytuacji w regionie są lepsze, niż stabilizacja Mubaraka? Dostrzegając zasadnicze wady, a także zasadność protestu wobec tego, co działo się pod reżimem Mubaraka, należy się zastanowić, co jest w tej sytuacji optymalnym rozwiązaniem i jak powinna zachować się Unia Europejska.

  Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE). - Señora Presidenta, los acontecimientos que están ocurriendo en Túnez y Egipto son muy importantes, y es posible que estos procesos de cambio se extiendan a otros países de la región mediterránea, región importantísima para la Unión Europea. Es nuestra inmediata vecindad y nos unen con estos países amigos múltiples e intensos lazos.

En la última década la Unión Europea no ha sabido persuadir a sus autoridades para que hicieran las reformas necesarias. Ya en la anterior legislatura yo mismo insistí en que la estabilidad no podía seguir siendo una coartada del inmovilismo, sino que estos países necesitaban profundas reformas políticas, económicas y sociales. Ahora el cambio, la reforma, viene exigida por los ciudadanos y desde la calle.

Señorías, yo celebro que por fin el Consejo, el pasado lunes, se ocupara de estos sucesos y fijara una posición. Comparto la impresión de que el proceso de transición en Túnez va en la buena dirección. Ahora bien, desgraciadamente, la percepción más extendida es que, a lo largo de las semanas anteriores, la Unión Europea ha estado casi ausente de estos procesos. Hemos oído varias intervenciones del Presidente Obama, declaraciones de la Secretaria de Estado Clinton, incluso hemos oído hablar de contactos del ejército tunecino con representantes del ejército estadounidense...

La visibilidad de la Unión no ha sido, en modo alguno, comparable. Los nuevos mecanismos del Tratado de Lisboa deberían haber sido más activos y visibles, incluido el Presidente del Consejo Europeo.

Señora Ashton, yo celebro su viaje a Túnez dentro de dos semanas, pero creo también que hay que mejorar las capacidades de previsión y de reacción. ¿Queremos ser un actor global importante? Pues bien, debemos empezar por ser relevantes, al menos, en el plano regional.

  Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă (S&D). - Uniunea Europeană urmăreşte cu mare atenţie situaţia din Tunisia şi sprijină eforturile poporului tunisian pentru o tranziţie paşnică spre democraţie. Măsurile iniţiale întreprinse de guvernul de tranziţie din Tunisia sunt paşi în direcţia cea bună şi facem apel la noile autorităţi să pună în aplicare pe deplin angajamentele asumate privind guvernarea, respectarea statului de drept şi a libertăţilor fundamentale, precum şi reformele economice şi sociale. Consider că toate aceste reforme reprezintă una dintre cele mai bune modalităţi de a investi în viitorul Tunisiei şi de a ajuta stabilizarea democraţiei sale.

Europa îşi doreşte un parteneriat stabil cu Tunisia în cadrul Euromed şi trebuie să mobilizeze toate instrumentele de care dispune pentru a ajuta procesul de tranziţie, crearea de instituţii democratice puternice, apariţia unei societăţi civile active şi implicate în punerea în aplicare a reformelor. Avem un interes deosebit pentru o Tunisie stabilă, prosperă şi democratică, cu care să putem dezvolta o cooperare reciproc avantajoasă, bazată pe interese şi valori comune.

  Michael Gahler (PPE). - Frau Präsidentin! Lady Ashton! Liebe Kollegen! Was jetzt zu tun ist, ist bereits vielfach gesagt worden, dazu herrscht auch breiter Konsens. Unsere Entschließung ist klar bezüglich Tunesien, zu Ägypten müssen wir über mündliche Änderungsanträge das Notwendige ergänzen.

Ich denke, es gibt Grund zur Selbstkritik. Unsere Exekutiven in Brüssel und in den Mitgliedstaaten hielten zu lange am Status quo fest. Wenn wir unsere eigenen Grundsätze auch in der Tagespolitik ernst genommen hätten in Bezug auf den universellen Charakter von Menschenrechten und Demokratie, dann hätten wir die offensichtlichen Defizite deutlich gegenüber Tunesien und Ägypten ansprechen müssen. Wir wussten, dass die Maßnahmen gegen Islamisten und Fundamentalisten nicht nur gegen diese Personengruppe, sondern gegen jegliche Kritik an der jeweiligen Regierungspolitik ergriffen wurden. Noch ist es nicht zu spät. Das Einfordern von Demokratie und Menschenrechten ist weder Einmischung in innere Angelegenheiten, noch kann es als ein Beitrag zur Destabilisierung der Verhältnisse denunziert werden. Keine Diktatur, kein autoritäres Regime ist aus sich heraus stabil. Mit unserer bisherigen Politik haben wir also nur Zeit, aber keine Stabilität gewonnen.

Tunesien und Ägypten stehen beispielhaft für Andere. Jeder kennt weitere in der Region. Manche fürchten sich, sie beim Namen zu nennen. Für mich ist zum Beispiel Saudi-Arabien so ein Kandidat. In dieser Situation bedarf es politischer Führung durch die Hohe Beauftragte. Die 27 haben jedoch keine unterschiedlichen Interessen. Wenn Sie die richtigen Einsichten haben, warten Sie nicht, bis der letzte diplomatische Bedenkenträger seinen Außenminister neu gebrieft hat. Was Senator John Kerry vorgestern und Barack Obama heute Nacht zu Ägypten gesagt haben, hätte auch von Ihnen kommen dürfen. Emanzipieren Sie sich im Interesse der Union, damit die EU in ihrer eigenen Nachbarschaft Politik für die Zukunft formuliert und nicht andere. Vielleicht können Sie ja schon nächste Woche nach Tunesien und Ägypten fahren, dann können Sie uns übernächste Woche in Straßburg berichten.

  Richard Howitt (S&D). - Madam President, together with everyone else in this debate, I share deep concern for the peaceful protestors in Egypt, particularly in the light of the further violence of today.

I want to record in this debate concern about the continued closure of Al Jazeera, which Europe has been silent on so far, and the arrest of six Al Jazeera journalists, as well as the need for us to engage with the IT companies, Internet service and mobile phone providers, including Vodafone from my own country, on the choices that they made in Egypt during the course of the last weeks.

I also wish that EU leaders had said before what they are saying today. President Sarkozy said in December 2007: ‘I’d like to tell President Mubarak how much I appreciate his experience, wisdom and moderate vision. … President Mubarak is for us a friend.’ Today he calls for a transition.

Or there is Alistair Burt, UK Foreign Office Minister, saying he wanted stability in Egypt more than anything. William Hague, declining to say how soon he would like to see elections taking place, is now calling for transition.

Finally, I agree with Baroness Ashton, our High Representative. Europe is good at transitional justice, at elections and democracy building, at civil society development. Whatever the wrongs and the baggage of the past, she and we should see this as a crisis in the region but an opportunity for Europe to devote our resources to building respect for democracy and human rights. These are not values that we are imposing from Europe. They are demanded on the streets of Tunis and Cairo and it is our duty to listen.

  Bogusław Sonik (PPE). Każda rewolucja niesie w sobie niebezpieczeństwo, iż domaganie się przez narody demokracji i chleba zostanie zawłaszczone przez wrogów porządku prawnego opartego na prawnych i realnych podstawach demokracji. Nie mamy żadnej gwarancji, że rewolta w Tunezji, Egipcie i innych krajach tego obszaru nie stanie się pretekstem do zagarnięcia władzy przez ekstremistów islamskich, jak to stało się w Iranie. Dla instytucji europejskich nadchodzi również godzina próby. Unia Europejska ma wszelkie możliwości, by wreszcie odegrać rolę, do jakiej jest stworzona. Trzeba skutecznie wesprzeć te siły polityczne, które opowiadają się za pluralizmem. Trzeba też zrewidować sposób, w jaki prowadzona była dotychczas polityka sąsiedztwa, najwyraźniej wykorzystywana do podtrzymywania rządów skorumpowanych władców. Pieniądze przeznaczane na rozwój sąsiedzkich obszarów, wolności, demokracji i dobrobytu winny trafiać w znacznej części do obywateli tych krajów poprzez ścisłą współpracę z organizacjami pozarządowymi, ze światem akademickim, z ludźmi kultury. A priorytetem powinno być także wspieranie projektów adresowanych do młodzieży i do organizacji zrzeszających kobiety.

Pani Wysoka Przedstawiciel, dotychczasowa polityka Unii Europejskiej w tym rejonie świata poniosła fiasko. Trzeba podjąć ryzyko wspierania Egiptu bez Mubaraka, na drodze do pluralistycznej laickiej republiki Egiptu, szanującej swoje mniejszości. Mubarak musi odejść już dzisiaj. Jego czas minął. Czas, który miał, zmarnował.

  Nicole Sinclaire (NI). - (asking Mr Howitt a blue-card question under Rule 149(8)) You raised some comments by President Sarkozy and Mr Burt. I do not know whether you were in the Chamber earlier when a colleague referred to the statements by Mr Blair concerning Mr Mubarak. Could you confirm whether you agree or disagree with Mr Blair?

  Richard Howitt (S&D). - Madam President, I reiterate what I said in my speech, namely that there is much baggage from the past, which all of us should reflect on and learn lessons from.

But that should not stop us, as a European Union, from engaging with Egypt and the Arab world to support democracy and human rights, and I expect my colleague, despite her different views on Europe, to share this view with me.

  Dominique Vlasto (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, beaucoup de choses ont déjà été dites, mais je m'associe aux marques de sympathie et de soutien qui ont déjà été formulées à l'égard des peuples tunisien et égyptien. Ils représentent un symbole d'espoir pour tous les défenseurs des libertés. J'ai également une pensée pour les victimes.

Je voudrais maintenant dire que l'Union européenne qui, on l'a dit, s'est fait remarquer par son absence de réaction, doit bien être aux côtés des peuples tunisien et égyptien pour les aider à mener à bien l'ouverture de leur pays aux réformes et à instaurer la démocratie.

L'Union européenne a décidé d'accompagner les dirigeants tunisiens pour engager une transition pacifique, préparer l'organisation des élections à venir pour gagner la liberté et aider le peuple tunisien à trouver la prospérité du développement et de la paix sociale, une économie qui permettra à la jeunesse de trouver de l'emploi.

Je dirai, pour terminer, que l'Union pour la Méditerranée a un défi important à relever parce que la révolution du jasmin a déclenché une vague dans tous les États du Maghreb, du Proche-Orient et du Moyen-Orient. Elle doit mettre en place une stratégie forte envers ces pays. Mais attention: face à ce mouvement démocratique légitime, l'Europe doit trouver un équilibre entre non-ingérence dans les affaires intérieures, soutien aux aspirations légitimes des peuples et stabilité.

  Alf Svensson (PPE). - Fru talman! I Europaparlamentet har vi ofta talat om respekten för demokrati och mänskliga fri- och rättigheter, men sanningen är ju faktiskt den, och det kan vi väl tillstå ikväll, att vi ofta har prioriterat något annat, nämligen politisk stabilitet och goda affärsförbindelser. Nu kom det ju nästan över oss som en tjuv om natten att också i arabvärlden traktar och trängtar människor efter frihet. Nu talar vi här väldigt mycket om övergångsriskerna. Det är klart att de finns. Det finns väl ingen här som står upp och hurrar för muslimska brödraskapet. Men vi vet att i det långa loppet är det ändå frihet och respekt för mänskliga fri- och rättigheter som varje individ åstundar och också har rätt att uppnå.

Nu måste vi se till att vi i EU inte längre finns på åskådarplats och låter det gå som det går, utan att vi tar initiativ och försöker, precis som Catherine Ashton strök under här, vara med om att bygga upp demokratier. Det är imponerande att ungdomarna har satt igång de här revolterna, delvis kanske också tack vare de kommunikationsmöjligheter som nu står till buds. Därför tror jag inte att vi ska lasta för mycket ideologiskt eller religiöst stoff i de här rörelserna i nuläget. Men vad de än står för är det i det långa loppet frihet och respekt för mänskliga och rättigheter som måste få prioriteras från oss här i kammaren och från Europaparlamentet överhuvudtaget.

  Anna Záborská (PPE). - Vďaka monitoringu už viac ako dva roky pozorujeme postupnú degradáciu demokracie, slobody prejavu, zhromažďovania, vierovyznania v krajinách, ktoré sú predmetom našej diskusie. Výsledky volieb v týchto krajinách sú jasným dôkazom.

Totalitné režimy nevzniknú z jedného dňa na druhý. Napriek nepopierateľným signálom sa Európska únia jasne nepostavila na stranu dodržiavania ľudských práv. Bohužiaľ, aj teraz sme jedným z posledných, kto zaujíma spoločnú pozíciu.

Pýtam sa: prečo sme počas francúzskeho predsedníctva vytvorili Stredomorskú úniu? Nemali sme diplomatické prostriedky negociovať stabilitu v tejto časti sveta?

Počas desaťročí štáty Európskej únie podporovali tieto vlády, a to hlavne ekonomickými prostriedkami. Dnes tí istí začínajú rozmýšľať, ako zmraziť kontá, ako podporovať odporcov vlád. Nie je to istá forma pokrytectva? Situácia v Stredomorí nám dáva lekciu z nerešpektovania ľudských práv. Ako napríklad sloboda vierovyznania nie je rešpektovaná a môže sa stať zbraňou radikálov a teroristov, a vtedy je to začiatok totalitného režimu.

Hovorím to preto, že je ešte veľa krajín, ktoré majú obdobný vývin.

  Ernst Strasser (PPE). - Frau Präsidentin, Hohe Beauftragte! Die Debatte hier in diesem Haus – Sie haben sie interessiert verfolgt – hat vor allem einen gemeinsamen Nenner, und das ist die Aufforderung an Sie, Hohe Beauftragte: Erheben Sie Ihre Stimme! Schreiten Sie voran, seien Sie ein wenig mutiger, seien Sie auch ein wenig lauter! Ergreifen Sie Partei für jene, die in einer modernen Zivilgesellschaft für Demokratie, für Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit eingetreten sind!

Tunesien, Ägypten und vielleicht noch einige andere Länder stehen vor einem schwierigen Wandel. Da braucht es unsere Unterstützung, und da ist es gerade falsch, dass Ihr erster Vertreter in diesem Land sagt, dass keine Änderung der Strategie erforderlich ist. Im Gegenteil, wir brauchen die Mittelmeerstrategie, vielleicht die Nahost-Strategie, vielleicht das Überdenken des Zusammenlebens über das Mittelmeer hinaus und natürlich an erster Stelle und sehr rasch die Ausrichtung, die Vorbereitung und die Unterstützung von Wahlen.

Es dürfte dem ersten Vertreter der EU in diesem Land entgangen sein, dass in Tunesien inzwischen die Übergangsregierung vier internationale Abkommen zur Wahrung der Menschenrechte anstrebt, dass die Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen, die Rückkehr Oppositioneller und die Vorbereitung und Durchführung demokratischer Wahlen gegeben ist. Diesen Prozess müssen wir unterstützen, und das Parlament wünscht sich hier eine lautere Stimme von Ihnen.

  Marco Scurria (PPE). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, gentile baronessa, noi dobbiamo prendere spunto da questa crisi per capire se l'Unione europea vuole davvero svolgere un ruolo in politica estera.

La politica estera è una cosa seria, prevede strategie, obiettivi certi e alleanze chiare. Non possiamo continuare ad andare in giro per il mondo e dare delle pacche sulle spalle a tutti facendo finta che vada sempre tutto bene. Le elezioni in Egitto si sono svolte poche settimane fa e noi non ci siamo stracciati le vesti perché abbiamo percepito che c'era una dittatura che stava prendendo in giro tutti noi. Adesso che milioni di persone scendono in piazza tutti noi parliamo di democrazia e di diritti umani. Ben vengano, facciamo in modo che vengano, ma attenzione anche ad inseguire le folle. Ricordo il popolo iraniano in mobilitazione per cacciare lo scià e sappiamo com'è finita, con un regime che anche in questi giorni impicca decine di persone.

Io mi auguro che il nuovo governo egiziano sappia, ad esempio, tenere lontani gli estremismi, sappia svolgere un ruolo equilibrato nella crisi israelo-palestinese. Signora baronessa, ci vuole certo più democrazia in quella zona di mondo, ma anche più politica europea.

  Miroslav Mikolášik (PPE). - Sme svedkami silného napätia a konfliktov medzi vládou a občianskou spoločnosťou v Tunisku a v Egypte, ktoré museli zákonite vzniknúť vzhľadom na vážne, dlhodobé a štátnymi orgánmi ignorované problémy v ekonomickej a sociálnej sfére.

Fyzické násilie počas zrážok je nanajvýš poľutovaniahodné a len potvrdzuje silnú potrebu podpory mierového prechodu k demokracii aj zvonku. A preto Európska únia by mala pohotovo zamerať všetky svoje prostriedky na posilnenie právneho štátu a ľudských práv v týchto krajinách vrátane náboženských práv a neželáme si, aby vládu získali netolerantní a militantní islamisti.

V rámci zachovania dobrých susedských vzťahov a bezpečnosti v regióne sa treba zamerať na aktivity smerujúce k posilneniu občianskych spoločností, vytváraniu zdravej opozície a zabezpečeniu demokratických volieb, aby sa zabránilo uzurpovaniu moci extrémistickými radikálnymi skupinami.

  Ioan Mircea Paşcu (S&D). - Madam President, the very fact that we are discussing Tunisia – our initial topic – at a time when Egypt has reached boiling point is indicative of how far we are trailing behind reality, even if the title of our debate can be changed with ease.

Our public reactions have been timid, expressing concern and addressing pious appeals for restraint and dialogue in the middle of revolutions, demonstrating a lack of practical sense. Even the expectations that the revolutions would lead to societies based on our set of values ignore the cultural and religious differences separating those societies from ours.

How to react then? First we should realise that this is a challenge asking for a common coordinating answer, not a competition on who demonstrates first the most compassion. Lady Ashton, your words will carry the necessary authority with their audiences only if fully backed publicly by the Council in its entirety.

Second, we should start being preoccupied with the end result of those revolutionary movements. What kinds of regimes will result? And, in the end we should respect their right to decide for themselves.

  Ivo Vajgl (ALDE). - Na koncu te revolucije, ki poteka na ulicah Kaira, bo ljudstvo izbralo politični sistem in voditelje. Verjetno se bo našel tudi kdo, ki bo priznal Mubaraku njegovo pozitivno vlogo, ki jo je odigral v sistemu ohranjanja neke relativne stabilnosti na Bližnjem vzhodu. Ampak to me v tem trenutku manj zanima.

Dogodki v Tuniziji in Egiptu razkrivajo marginalno vlogo, ki jo Evropska unija igra v Mediteranu in na vsem področju naše sosedne politike. Potrebujemo reformo sosedske politike, potrebujemo strategijo, ki bo dinamizirala reševanje odprtih problemov, od Belorusije, Osetije, Abhazije, Zgornjega Karabaha, Transdnjestrije, Cipra, Palestine, Zahodne Sahare. Potrebujemo strategijo do držav bivše Sovjetske zveze v srednji Aziji in Zakavkazju. Tudi njih bo zajel veter demokratizacije, ni treba biti profet zato, da to predvidimo. Veliko dela je tukaj za vas, gospa Ashton, bodite ambiciozni, pa vas bomo podprli.

  Malika Benarab-Attou (Verts/ALE). - Madame la Présidente, Madame Ashton, après avoir été dans l'erreur en soutenant les régimes dictatoriaux de la rive sud de la Méditerranée, sous prétexte de faire rempart contre l'intégrisme musulman, il nous appartient aujourd'hui d'être à la hauteur des moments historiques que nous vivons.

L'Europe doit rénover la politique existante à l'égard des régimes autoritaires et des dictateurs. Moubarak doit partir maintenant. Nous devons soutenir les démocraties et les processus de démocratisation tels qu'ils sont choisis par les peuples, pas seulement selon notre vision. Soyons à l'écoute, soyons modestes, ne confondons pas laïcité et sécurisation; celle-ci est déjà en marche dans ces pays. Nos instruments financiers doivent être réorientés dans le sens du soutien infaillible aux démocrates...

(La Présidente retire la parole à l'orateur)

  Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL). - Senhora Presidente, eu penso que estes dois países, como outros desta região, nos mostram como, nos últimos anos, não raras vezes, os líderes europeus souberam estar mais do lado dos negócios do que da democracia, mais do lado dos ditadores do que dos pobres.

Estou francamente preocupada com a situação que se vive actualmente no Egipto e com os desenvolvimentos de hoje, e é por isso que entendo que não é calma que deveremos ter, mas devemos ter solidariedade, solidariedade com os milhões de cidadãos e de cidadãs egípcios que estão no Cairo e em todo o país fartos de fome, fartos de opressão, fartos de desemprego. E é por isso que, depois do discurso de hoje de Mubarak, depois de terem sido soltados os cães do regime, depois de se ter criado uma via aberta e limpa para a violência, nós devemos dizer que temos de estar ao lado destas pessoas. Não podemos permitir que seja criada uma estratégia de medo para que elas voltem para casa.

Há trinta e seis anos, em Portugal, teríamos voltado para casa se tivéssemos ouvido esses conselhos. Ainda bem que não voltámos, porque assim tivemos uma revolução democrática.

  Jaroslav Paška (EFD). - Európska zahraničná služba disponuje veľkým počtom zamestnancov, odborníkov či analytikov. Preto by naši experti mali vedieť profesionálne posúdiť spoločenské dianie tak v Tunise, ako aj v Egypte a odporučiť Vám zvoliť vhodné kroky, ktorými Európa pomôže obyvateľom týchto krajín prekonať problémy s neželanými politickými lídrami. Pštrosia politika, ktorú doposiaľ vo vzťahu k občianskym nepokojom v afrických krajinách prezentujeme, však vyvoláva isté pochybnosti o akcieschopnosti našej zahraničnej služby.

Vážená pani vysoká predstaviteľka Európskej únie, pri dlhšom otáľaní s profesionálnou reakciou na aktuálne dianie v Tunise aj v Egypte sa naši daňoví poplatníci budú oprávnene pýtať: začo platíme to množstvo všelijakých úradníkov v zahraničnej službe Európskej únie, keď nie sú schopní pripraviť pre Vás okamžitú profesionálnu reakciu na búrlivé dianie v Európe.

  Andreas Mölzer (NI). - Frau Präsidentin! Lady Ashton! Optimisten meinen, dass die revolutionären Ereignisse in Tunesien und in Ägypten der Anfang von so etwas wie einem arabischen Völkerfrühling sein könnten, Ereignisse, wie wir sie etwa in Osteuropa 1989 erlebt haben. Es ist ja so, dass wir als Europäer stets auf der Seite der Freiheit und der Demokratie stehen sollten, und wir würden uns freuen, wenn es so wäre. Allerdings können wir nicht vergessen, dass auch wir Europäer, der Westen insgesamt, zum Teil mit den miesesten und brutalsten Diktaturen in dieser arabischen Welt paktiert haben.

Wir sollten uns keine Illusionen machen. Facebook, Internet und Twitter sind zwar moderne Mittel, um eine Revolution voranzutreiben, sie ersetzen aber nicht rechtsstaatliche und demokratische Strukturen, die hinter den Kulissen existieren müssen, um eine Revolution in ein demokratisches System überführen zu können. Was wir Europäer machen können und sollten, ist, klar Stellung zu beziehen und beim Aufbau solcher demokratischer Strukturen zu helfen, um schließlich Rechtsstaat und auch freie Marktwirtschaft, die notwendig sind für eine Demokratie, in diesen Bereichen durchsetzen zu können.

  Catherine Ashton, Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. − Madam President, let me begin by being absolutely clear. I do not accept the principle that somehow Europe has been slow or late. We were the first to make statements on both Tunisia and Egypt. We began talking about Tunisia on 10 January and I put out statements on Egypt last week. We were ahead of everyone else. It is not a contest and it is not a race, but I do not accept that criticism.

Neither do I accept that we were slow to act. We have been in contact hourly with those in Tunisia and with the people in Egypt, with our delegations, to whom I pay tribute for what they have had to deal with in the last couple of weeks, and also in direct contact with the government and with the services. You will also be aware of the other issues that we have been dealing with at the same time, so I do not accept that we have been too quiet. I do not accept that we have not done enough.

I do accept that there is more that we can do. Did you give me all the tools I need with the Lisbon Treaty? Probably not. Did you give me all the resources I need? Probably not, but we will do the best that we can in the context, within which we have the External Action Service and the role that I have. I am not somebody who can go out and give my personal views. I speak for the European Union. I listen to you and I listen to the Member States and I listen to the Commission. That is the role that you set up in the Lisbon Treaty and that is what I will do.

For some of you who were not here earlier, the Tunisian Foreign Minister was in my office today, making his very first visit outside Tunisia to the European Union because I invited him and because he knows how important we are, not just today but next week and next month and next year. When I speak to him I speak on behalf of Europe. He knows that what I say will be backed up by 27 countries, hopefully with the European Parliament’s support and also with the support of the Commission.

That means something to these people. It means something that when we speak it is one message, not necessarily – as people keep saying – one voice. It is the same message, whether it is said by the Chancellor of Germany, by the Prime of Minister of Britain, by the President of another country in the European Union, by any of the 27. We are saying the same thing. That is why the Foreign Ministers coming together on Monday, the conclusions that they drew and the press conferences that they gave on all of the issues that we are grappling with, in our neighbourhood and beyond, are so significant to the people on the ground. We must not lose sight of that in anything else that we do.

I agree with you that we need to be more active on the ground to do more and I absolutely agree that we need to revisit the neighbourhood policy. I have been saying it for a long time. We need to make sure that we have a more diversified approach, that we take each country and we work out what it is we want to achieve with the people of that country – yes, to do more with civil society, yes, to focus on human rights and democracy and, yes, to deal with the common foreign policy issues that we have with them. I agree. I am trying to do it. If you look at the work we have been doing in the last two or three months, you will see a common theme in what I have been saying, which has been the need to be more active in our neighbourhood. It should be our first priority after the setting up of the Service and it needs to be better, smarter and more related to their needs.

I cannot take responsibility for what happened before my time, but I do take responsibility for transforming what I inherited into a strategy for the future that you can be as proud of, as I intend to be. It starts with what we do now and how much we are able to take responsibility and move forward.

I do not underestimate how difficult the situation is and how fast it is moving. I agree with those who have also pointed out that democracy is not a moment in time. It is a process. You build democracy and you bring out those organisations who can work with people to help them understand their democratic rights, what democracy can mean and what it can do – the transformation of society. We use that word in the Council conclusions for a reason, because I believe in transformation, not just for today and tomorrow but for the long term. That is what Europe offers. It is what Europe offered to our neighbours who became our partners and what it offered to its own members. It brought about transformation that will last for generations. That is what we are in the business of. We are not in the business of knee-jerk reactions and responses. We are in the business of doing something that we give to the people for their lifetime, for their children’s lifetime and beyond.

And, of course, in all of this I have not forgotten all the other issues. I am watching what happens in Jordan. I am in touch there. I am of course engaged in what is happening in Iran. The weekend before last I spent in talks with the Iranians and you know how passionately I feel about human rights in Iran because of all the statements I have made, because of all the issues that we have raised.

I certainly have not forgotten the Middle East peace process. I was speaking with George Mitchell yesterday. We will see Prime Minister Fayyad tomorrow. We are engaged with the Quartet. They meet on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, where I will chair the Quartet on that occasion.

I have not forgotten any of the other issues. Neither have I forgotten Albania, where Miroslav Lajčák goes back on my behalf this week to continue that dialogue. We do not forget everything else that needs to be addressed, nor indeed the issues that we will be debating in this Parliament tonight.

And I am not responsible for what Tony Blair says. I may share the same language; I may come from the same political party, but I am not responsible for him and I will not be held responsible for him either.

Next week I go to the Security Council, on your behalf too. At the Security Council we again have the opportunity to show what the European Union has to offer for these people, for today and for tomorrow. It is really important that I get your support to do this – not quietly, I can be very loud – but properly with cohesion, with direction, with purpose, with a strategy and a plan so that, when the Tunisian Foreign Minister comes to my office, I give him a plan. I do not say, it is very nice to see you, come and talk to me in front of the TV cameras for five minutes. No. I said to him we are going to sit for an hour and we are going to work through your plan with what I think we can offer you. How much money? What can I do? What do I need to change? Which instruments do we need to bring together? How much flexibility have I got now? How much do I need to get? What do you need from us, the European Investment Bank, the African Union Bank, the United States, your other partners? How do we build the plan?

Then I met the Yemeni Foreign Minster and we did the same thing: How do the group of countries that are friends of Yemen put together a new development fund? Do we do that with the Arab countries with whom I have been talking? What do we do?

In my view, that is how Europe should work, and that is what I do every single day on your behalf and will continue to do.

Now I am hoping that I can shortly leave this debate and ask another Commissioner to take over. For that I apologise but events in Egypt, as you rightly say, are moving and I can tell you what we have also been doing while we have been talking in here. We have sent messages, we have spoken to the Deputy Foreign Minister on my behalf. Messages have now gone in directly. The security forces have to intervene right away to stop an escalation of violence. That message has come from me while I am also sitting here talking to you. They need to take responsibility; the government is responsible for getting the army in to assist the people and to make sure that citizens are protected now. Ambulances have to be allowed in and out of the square, because we are hearing that they are not being allowed in. I am going to speak to Vice-President Suleiman as soon as I leave the Chamber. The call is being set up now and that is why you have to forgive me and let me go.

There is an ongoing meeting that is trying to work out a road map with the opposition, now that European leaders are busy on our behalf talking to other leaders in the region and getting them to put in the calls as well. This has to be a telephone tree like you have never seen before of leaders talking to leaders, getting the messages into Egypt. While all this is going on, we have a crisis meeting going on in my offices to work out exactly what we will do in whatever eventuality we find ourselves.

That is what I have done every single day since this crisis began, with what happened in Albania, with what happened in Belarus, with what we did on Sudan, where our special representative led a task force and where Véronique De Keyser saw for herself on the ground what Europe was doing.

That is what we do. Could we do more? Of course. Do I wish there were four of me? Yes I do. Do I think that the tools are right? No. Do I think we have made progress? Yes. Do I think we can do much more? Of course.

If all you want me to do is pop up and be seen to be alongside everybody, I will not do that. What I will do for you is deliver what I think Europe was created to do, which is to put democracy and human rights at the heart of every single action we take and support the people of Egypt and Tunisia today.

(Applause)

  President. − I have received six motions for resolutions⁽¹⁾tabled in accordance with Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

The debate is closed.

The vote on the motions for resolutions on Tunisia will take place on Thursday.

The vote on the motions for resolutions on Egypt will take place at the February II part-session.

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Sergio Berlato (PPE), per iscritto. – Signora Vicepresidente, onorevoli colleghi, negli ultimi giorni la situazione in Tunisia e in altri Paesi della sponda sud del Mediterraneo é precipitata: decine di persone che manifestavano violentemente contro il carovita e la mancanza di un libero mercato nel paese hanno perso la vita. Ricordo in questa sede che l'Unione europea, nel 1995, ha lanciato a Barcellona il programma di partenariato con il Mediterraneo con l'obiettivo di realizzare una cooperazione economica, politica, militare e sociale, tuttavia, ad oggi questi obiettivi sono lungi dall'essere conseguiti. La drammatica situazione in Tunisia mostra l'urgenza di una visione europea verso il Mediterraneo, ovvero il coinvolgimento dei paesi della sponda mediterranea nelle attuali politiche di partenariato e di vicinato. Proprio nelle ultime ore la situazione in Egitto si é ulteriormente aggravata. Negli scontri avvenuti in tutto il paese tra polizia e manifestanti contro il governo di Mubarak si registrano, infatti, diversi morti e feriti. Ritengo che la strada da percorrere nell'interesse di questi paesi ma, soprattutto, dell'Europa sia quella di sostenere riforme economiche e sociali in grado di rispondere alle aspettative di larga parte della popolazione e che assicurino la pace e un graduale miglioramento delle condizioni di vita nei paesi del nord Africa.

  Richard Falbr (S&D), písemně. – Evropská unie si vytýčila v roce 1995 ambiciózní cíl vytvořit ve Středomoří oblast míru, stability a prosperity. Středomořské státy získávaly finanční prostředky za podmínky, že proběhnou nutné ekonomické a politické reformy. Nic z toho se však nestalo. Ve většině případů byla totiž snaha Evropské unie pomáhat svým sousedům na jihu vedená spíše strachem, aby se k moci nedostal islámský radikalismus a neohrozil tak bezpečnostní stabilitu regionu. Podpora autoritativních režimů se, jak ukazují dějiny, nevyplácí. Nevyplatila se Spojeným státům v Jižní a Střední Americe a nevyplácí se ani Evropské unii. Právem hovoří někteří kritici o našem pokrytectví. Mluvíme o lidských právech, o nutnosti sociálního dialogu, o ekonomickém rozvoji a přivíráme desítky let oči nad tím, že v Tunisku a dalších zemích na severu Afriky vládnou kruté a nedemokratické režimy. Nezbývá než konstatovat, že jde o výrazný neúspěch těch, kteří takovou politiku prosazovali. Trapné volání představitelů EU po tom, aby Mubarak zorganizoval demokratické volby, je jen smutným vyústěním této neúspěšné politiky.

  Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – A onda de indignação e as lutas dos povos de países de África, com destaque para os povos da Tunísia e do Egipto, exigem a nossa maior atenção e solidariedade. No caso concreto do Egipto, cujo povo continua a luta pelos seus direitos sociais e laborais, pela justiça social, a democracia e a liberdade, condenamos veementemente a repressão que, às ordens do governo de Hosni Mubarak, foi e continua a ser direccionada contra os trabalhadores e o povo em luta, e prestamos homenagem aos cerca de 100 cidadãos egípcios mortos pela violência de Estado.

A exemplo da Tunísia e de vários outros países do Mundo Árabe e de África, a situação no Egipto é indissociável do aprofundamento da crise do capitalismo e da violenta ofensiva anti-social que a caracteriza, nomeadamente com o crescimento exponencial do desemprego que afecta a juventude, bem como com o aumento exponencial dos preços dos bens alimentares.

Os recentes acontecimentos no Egipto e a ampla mobilização popular que os caracteriza não são também separáveis da coragem, persistência e determinação de organizações representativas dos trabalhadores e de outras forças populares e progressistas que, há muitos anos e em condições muito difíceis, desenvolvem importantes processos de luta. Insistimos na defesa de uma solução política encontrada no quadro do estrito respeito pela vontade soberana do povo do Egipto, livre de quaisquer ingerências, manobras ou pressões externas.

  Filip Kaczmarek (PPE), na piśmie. – Panie Przewodniczący. Szanowni Państwo. To, co dzieje się dzisiaj w Tunezji i Egipcie może być kluczem dla przyszłości całego regionu. Od bardzo dawna społeczeństwa tego regionu nie miały możliwości otwartej ekspresji swych dążeń, swych marzeń, swych obaw. Nie wiemy jeszcze do czego doprowadzą wydarzenia w północnej Afryce. To, co jest pewne to fakt, że powinniśmy starać się mieć większy wpływ na rozwój sytuacji. Przecież to rozgrywa się w krajach naszego najbliższego sąsiedztwa. Europejskie zaangażowanie w regionie, o którym mówimy, było rzeczywiście spore. Nie od dziś wiemy, że lokalne rządy nie uwzględniały zupełnie tego, co było oczekiwane przez społeczeństwa. Zapalnikami protestu były te zjawiska, które najczęściej detonują społeczne niezadowolenie - bieda, beznadzieja i arogancja władzy. Nie sądzę, aby Tunezja i Egipt marzyły o demokracji w zachodnim wymiarze. Ludzie marzą po prostu o lepszym życiu, a lepszego życia nie muszą wiązać z demokracją. Czy zasługują na owe lepsze życie? Tak, zdecydowanie tak. Wszyscy mają prawo do lepszego życia, mają prawo do respektowania ludzkiej godności, do wolności, do rozwoju. Oby ich nadzieje spełniły się szybko i bezkrwawo. Dziękuje bardzo.

  Kelam, Tunne (PPE), in writing. – The first conclusion to be drawn from the profound changes taking place in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere is that the democratic world was absolutely unprepared for them. The EU as well as the USA were caught by surprise and still have to improvise in reacting and accommodating themselves to these revolutionary developments.

The same happened 20 years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed. It turned out that thousands of sovietologists had dismissed in their analyses the latent powerful force which finally disabled the Soviet dictatorship - the will of the enslaved people for freedom.

The current situation has exposed an inherent weakness of the fledgling European common foreign policy. It has exposed a chronic crisis of the values upon which the EU is officially based. In Realpolitik, these values have systematically been neglected or undervalued in favour of stability or pragmatic short-sighted relationships.

This is a moment to understand that looking away from the suppression of freedom with the justification of safeguarding stability and economic interests is bound to lead to devastating political mistakes. Only genuine democracy can provide for a long-term stability. Relying on autocratic regimes means increasing the bubble of self-deception which will explode sooner or later, resulting in grave moral losses for their democratic partners.

  Krzysztof Lisek (PPE), na piśmie. – Szanowny Panie Przewodniczący, Drodzy Koledzy i Koleżanki, Eksperci są zdania, że zamieszki w Tunezji spowodowały efekt domina. Jest duże prawdopodobieństwo, że następnym krajem w tym regionie po Tunezji i Egipcie, w którym nastąpią zmiany będzie Jemen. Wspominane są również Libia, Algieria, Jordania, Syria i Maroko. Globalizacja poprzez swobodną wymianę informacji otwiera oczy obywatelom reżimów. Chcą oni zmian, godnego życia w nowoczesnych demokratycznych państwach prawa o przejrzystych zasadach. W jakiej sytuacji Unia powinna promować te wartości i zrobić wszystko by kraje arabskie uniknęły wojen domowych czy przejęcia władzy przez ekstremistów. Pragnę podkreślić, że nasze wsparcie musi się ograniczyć do działań politycznych, wyłączając działania militarne. Jako UE powinniśmy wesprzeć Kraje Arabskie w pokojowym przeprowadzaniu reform. Istnieje ewidentna potrzeba prowadzenia dialogu tak z przedstawicielami ustępującej władzy jak i z opozycją włączając ruchy islamistyczne. Konieczne jest zwiększenie obecności UE w tym rejonie, konieczne jest zreformowanie całej Europejskiej Polityki Sąsiedztwa, co umożliwi lepszą promocję demokratyzacji nie tylko w Krajach Arabskich, ale i u naszych wschodnich sąsiadów jak Białoruś. Potrzebujemy skutecznych planów strategicznych uwzględniających odpowiednią pomoc finansową z naszej strony, tak by promować demokrację, społeczeństwo obywatelskie i prawa człowieka. Jestem zdania, że Unia powinna mówić jednym głosem jednoznacznie potępiając antydemokratyczne reżimy.

  Nuno Teixeira (PPE), por escrito. – Os acontecimentos que se sucedem em inúmeros países árabes, em especial na Tunísia e no Egipto, são manifestações que ficarão para a história da libertação dos povos de regimes autoritários, não cumpridores das regras básicas de uma sociedade democrática: o Estado de Direito e a defesa dos direitos humanos.

Penso que agora será importante repensar as estratégias, a curto e a longo prazo, para a Tunísia e o Egipto, no longo processo de transição democrática, evitando a subida ao poder de extremismos. Congratulo a missão da UE na Tunísia de avaliação à situação jurídica da fase anterior às eleições e à missão de observação das mesmas – medidas idênticas deverão ser tomadas logo que se alcance a estabilidade no Egipto.

Contudo, considero de extrema importância a revisão da política de vizinhança, que vimos não desempenhar um dos seus objectivos, a promoção da democracia e dos direitos humanos. Penso que a abordagem dos acordos euro-mediterrânicos deve apresentar uma maior diversificação e incidir directamente na sociedade civil. O diálogo com a Tunísia, o Egipto e os países vizinhos deve prosseguir a fim de garantir a estabilidade democrática. Para isso é necessário criar estratégias e reforçar os meios disponíveis para as necessárias reformas socioeconómicas e políticas.

  Traian Ungureanu (PPE), in writing. – While democratic progress in the Arab world should be encouraged, the strategic interests of the EU should not be endangered. The events in Tunisia and Egypt proved that autocracy is not a solution. Nevertheless, the same events do not guarantee a democratic outcome. Recent history showed that democratic revolutions can be hijacked by well organised, militant Islam. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 is a famous example of democratic upheaval that turned autocratic. We should strike a fine balance between the social policies of President Mubarak and Egypt’s strategic line. Egypt is a resilient ally, it joined the forces that liberated Kuwait and ensured more than 30 years of peace with Israel. There is hope and there is danger in the ongoing events in Egypt. The demonstrators and their legitimate demands are a genuine expression of the need to open debate. But there is massive potential for oppressive behaviour, practices and policies within Egyptian society. Female circumcision, approval for public executions, torture and strict interpretation of Islamic law are widespread. The Muslim Brotherhood is openly promoting this agenda and is credited with 20% of the electoral preferences. Caution should be exercised now if democracy is to have a future in Egypt.

  Antonio Masip Hidalgo (S&D), por escrito. – Nuestros argumentos sobre la importancia del carbón recobran mayor transcendencia ante la inestabilidad del Mediterráneo y Suez.

Apoyemos nuestra energía autóctona, que es un recurso seguro.

  Corina Creţu (S&D), în scris. – Revoltele declanşate în lumea arabă de auto-incendierea tânărului Mohamed Bouazizi nu au neapărat o componentă religioasă sau ideologică afişată. Revendicările economico-sociale primează în mod firesc, în condiţiile în care, în Egipt, creşterea preţurilor la alimente a adâncit dificultăţile în care se zbate jumătate din populaţia de 80 de milioane a ţării, care supravieţuieşte sub pragul sărăciei de 2 dolari pe zi. Cred că poziţia noastră faţă de evenimentele în desfăşurare în spaţiul arab trebuie să aibă în vedere pe de o parte suportul firesc faţă de dorinţa de libertate, iar pe de altă parte nu putem neglija ameninţările la adresa stabilităţii mondiale ce pot decurge dintr-o cădere a acestei regiuni, ce devine tot mai imprevizibilă, în haos sau sub influenţă islamistă. Există indicii îngrijorătoare că aspiraţia multora din protestatari nu e câtuşi de puţin modelul democraţiei occidentale, ci dimpotrivă. Nu pot să închei fără să mă gândesc la invazia rusă din Georgia, acum doi ani, când lumea occidentală a tăcut surprinsă şi ignorată. Iată că, încă o dată, evoluţii esenţiale lângă graniţele UE ne iau pe nepregătite şi, încă o dată, suntem în afara jocului, chiar dacă acest joc priveşte direct stabilitatea europeană din multe puncte de vedere.

  John Attard-Montalto (S&D), in writing. – The first foreign visit which the new Tunisian Prime Minister made was to the European Union. Baroness Catherine Ashton welcomed the PM and it was clearly appreciated that the EU was the venue for his first foreign visit. The choice in itself is important since the Tunisian PM wanted to give a clear message of the path he wishes his country to take. The EU stands for democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental principles. It stands for stability and security, in this case in the Mediterranean region. Tunisia is one of Malta’s closest North African neighbours. What happens during this transitional period is not only important for my country but also for the region. Considered a moderate state, I am optimistic that Tunisia’s foreign policy will continue in the same direction. Also I am hopeful that its domestic situation will improve. It is important that the EU is visible in its various aid and development programmes which can be addressed to Tunisia. Countries which embrace democratic values and contribute to stability and security in a region must be appreciated for their endeavours. That is why it is vital that the EU illustrates this appreciation both visibly and tangibly.

  Rafał Trzaskowski (PPE), na piśmie. – Wczoraj Organizacja Narodów Zjednoczonych ogłosiła, że wyniku towarzyszących rewolucji w Tunezji zamieszek zginęło ponad 200 osób. Jest to tragiczny wymiar tych niezwykle zaskakujących wydarzeń na Południu, który powinien nas wszystkich zmusić do poniesienia tym większych wysiłków na rzecz demokratyzacji tego kraju, jak i całego regionu. Szczególnie, że na naszych oczach upada stary porządek również w Egipcie. Niestety o jednym głosie Unii Europejskiej nie mogło być mowy. Nie oszukujmy się, że przy tak silnych partykularnych interesach poszczególnych państw członkowskich, nowoutworzona dyplomacja UE będzie od razu grała pierwsze skrzypce. W przypadku Tunezji w naszych rękach znajdują się jednak może mniej spektakularne, ale bardzo wymierne narzędzia działania. Jest nią polityka sąsiedztwa UE, która właśnie przechodzi rewizję, i która powinna zostać wobec tego odpowiednio zmodyfikowana. Jest nim również możliwość wysłania misji obserwacyjnej UE, do której nikogo nie trzeba już chyba przekonywać. To są konkretne zadania, nad którymi musimy się teraz w PE pochylić.

  Kristiina Ojuland (ALDE), in writing. – I would like to echo the admiration expressed during the debate in respect of the courage of the people of both Tunisia and Egypt in expressing their discontent and disappointment with their respective regimes. By now the unrest has escalated to the point of no return and the European Union must contribute to the transition process that has been sparked off. There have been some cautious voices calling for sustaining the status quo, especially in Egypt, arguing that overthrowing the regime might lead to a civil war, which in turn might bring religious fundamentalists to power. I find that it is not our business to foretell the possible developments in those countries. I would like to remind you that when the Eastern bloc was on the verge of collapsing, there were still some who would not have rocked the boat for fear of future instability in the region. Let us not make that mistake and instead let us help the people of Tunisia and Egypt to lay the foundations for true democracies in the best way we can. I am confident that Islam and democracy are not incompatible – Indonesia, a democracy, has the largest Muslim population in the world.

(1) See Minutes.