RIYADH, 22 May — A six-member EU parliamentary delegation led by Samy Nair will call on Crown Prince Abdullah, the regent, in Jeddah today to discuss the Arab peace initiative and other issues of local and regional interest.
Addressing a press conference here yesterday after meeting with senior Saudi officials, Nair reaffirmed Europe’s total support for the Arab peace plan. He also called for economic sanctions against Israel to put pressure on it to halt its military aggression against the Palestinians.
The EU delegation, during its two-day stay in the capital, held talks with Shoura Council Chairman Dr. Saleh Al-Humaid, Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki, governor of the General Investment Authority, and officials of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“We have discussed democracy in an indirect way. We heard a balanced analysis from the president of the Shoura Council,” said Nair, a French MEP and head of the 18-member delegation.
“We have reconfirmed our positions and told him that there can be no economic development without social development ... and the respect of human rights,” Nair said.
“We heard the other opinion, but we don’t share that opinion or its philosophy. However, we have not come here to impose our opinions. We will help Saudis to aim for development and openness; we should understand the culture of this country,” added Nair, who heads the European Parliament’s foreign relations committee responsible for the Gulf.
The EU team invited the Shoura chief to lead a delegation to Brussels for a first-hand look at the functioning of the European Parliament.
Nair said the EU Parliament fully supports the Saudi-inspired Arab peace initiative, which offers normal relations with the Jewish state in return for its total withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Asked what EU could do to force Israel to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, Nair said the European Parliament had by a majority vote called for the imposition of economic boycott against Israel for its continued violation of all UN resolutions.
The EU accounts for 60 percent of all Israel’s exports.
In reply to another question, Nair spelled out the EU position that the Sept. 11 attacks had nothing to do with Islam.
Referring to his talks with the GIA chief, Nair said: “We have agreed during discussions that we should help Saudi accession to the WTO.”
He said the European Union supports the establishment of a free trade zone with Saudi Arabia provided that transparency, justice and arbitration mechanisms are in place.
Riyadh is the largest trading partner of the 15-member European Union in the region, with the two-way trade totaling $17.6 billion annually. This is expected to increase once the GCC states formalize the customs union early next year, paving the way for a GCC-EU free trade zone.
