Sharon criticizes what he sees as an EU bias in favor of the Palestinians
  The Associated Press  Wednesday, December 1, 2004
 
 

JERUSALEM Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel took a swipe at the European Union on Tuesday, telling the visiting prime minister of Estonia that he hoped the Baltic country's recent accession to the group, along with those of nine other new members, would reduce what Israel sees as traditional EU bias toward the Palestinians.
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Speaking at a state ceremony to welcome Prime Minister Juhan Parts, Sharon praised Estonia's policies against anti-Semitism and its inauguration in January 2003 of an annual Holocaust remembrance day.
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Sharon said Israelis hope "that the accession of these new countries will positively affect Europe's position and will result in a more balanced approach by the European Union toward Israel."
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The Estonian leader arrived Monday for talks with Israeli officials on bilateral relations, trade and attempts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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In a red-carpet ceremony at Sharon's office in Jerusalem, Parts said, "The Middle East peace effort is one of the greatest security policy priorities of our time."
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"I'm pleased to be here at such a pivotal time in this process," he said.
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Israeli and EU officials see a more pragmatic Palestinian leadership since the death last month of Yasser Arafat and hope the chances for peacemaking will improve.
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During talks in The Hague with Israel and its Arab neighbors, the EU foreign affairs commissioner said Tuesday that prospects looked promising.
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"There is a chance for a fresh beginning," the commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said of a Monday night dinner with foreign ministers from the 25 EU nations, Israel and eight of its neighbors. "There was a completely different atmosphere."
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During his stay in Israel, Parts met President Moshe Katsav and visited holy sites in Jerusalem and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial.
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Palestinian sees little change
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The Palestinian foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, dampened optimistic talk by Israel and the European Union on Tuesday about an improvement in Israeli-Palestinian relations, saying that little of substance had changed, Reuters reported from The Hague.
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Shaath met his Israeli counterpart, Silvan Shalom, on Monday after which Shalom spoke of a new window of opportunity or "even a door of opportunity" for peace between the two sides.
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Commenting on the first direct talks between the two since the Arafat's death, Ferrero-Waldner said the mood was the most positive in almost a decade.
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"Only in the year 1995 was there this open atmosphere - a spirit of trying to really do something from both sides," she told reporters.
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That was the year when a spirit of reconciliation between the two foes was cut short by the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel, followed by a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings and the election of a hard-line Israeli government in 1996.
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But Shaath, while acknowledging that the post-Arafat era offered new possibilities for peace, played down the significance of his talks with Shalom.
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The host for the meeting was the Dutch foreign minister, Bernard Bot, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
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"What we heard yesterday from Mr. Shalom was very broad," Shaath said, but "my meeting with him and Mr. Bot was really short and only helped produce a better climate at this meeting."
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"Real negotiations have not yet started," he said.
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Foreign ministers from the EU and several of its Mediterranean neighbors were meeting in The Hague under their Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
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Shaath noted that there was optimism all around but said several steps were needed, "such as the release of Palestinian prisoners, such as refraining from building new settlements, such as rerouting that wall altogether." He was referring to a security barrier that Israel says is to protect itself from Palestinian suicide bombers and that Palestinians call a grab for Arab land.
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Shaath said Israel must open trade routes for Palestinians, without which no amount of aid from Europe or other donors could help repair their shattered economy.
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"Even if $1 billion of aid per annum is given to the Palestinians, it will not be enough to create a recovery unless Israel opens the arteries and allows the Palestinians to produce and market their goods in the neighborhood and in the world," he said.
.http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/30/news/mideast.html