    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [June 20, 2005]
    [Pages 1025-1027]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Joint Statement by the United States and the European Union Working
    Together To Promote Peace, Prosperity and Progress in the Middle East
    June 20, 2005

        At our Summit in Dromoland last year, the United States and the
    European Union pledged our support to the governments and the peoples of
    the Middle East who have expressed their determination to meet the
    challenges of modernization, to advance political, social and economic
    progress, to strengthen democracy, and to respect and promote human
    rights. We offered this support in a spirit of partnership as well as
    respect and friendship.
        Since then, we have strengthened our dialogue on our respective
    efforts towards promoting progress and stability in the Broader Middle
    East and the Mediterranean.
        At the June 2004 Summit, we reaffirmed our commitment to a just,
    comprehensive, and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian
    conflict and our common vision of the co-existence of two states,
    Palestine and Israel, by the creation of an independent, democratic, and
    viable Palestinian state with contiguity in the West Bank living side by
    side with Israel and its neighbors in peace and security.
        Since then, we have witnessed the successful election of a new
    leader by the Palestinian
    people. We are now at a moment of opportunity, and, with our partners in
    the region, we must seize it. In order to achieve and maintain a lasting
    peace, we recognize the importance of building a climate of mutual trust
    and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.
        We endorse the May 9, 2005, declaration of the Quartet. We stress
    the importance of a complete and peaceful Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
    and parts of the northern West Bank in a manner consistent with the road
    map. We urge the parties to respect their commitments and to refrain
    from unilateral actions that could prejudge final status issues. We
    further pledge our full support to the mission of the Quartet's Special
    Envoy for Gaza Disengagement James Wolfensohn, and we will work with him and the parties to promote
    viable economic and social development.
        We support the holding of free, fair, and transparent multi-party
    legislative elections in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, under
    the scrutiny of international observers and with full freedom of
    movement for candidates and voters, as another vital step forward on the
    path towards building a reformed and accountable Palestinian Authority.
        We desire that the Israeli and Palestinian people live in a secure
    and stable environment. We affirm our support for the mission of General
    William Ward and will pursue in
    close coordination our respective efforts to assist the Palestinian
    security forces. As is required under the roadmap, there must be
    effective action against terrorism, dismantling of terrorist
    infrastructure, a freeze on all settlement activity, and dismantling of
    outposts.

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        The United States and the European Union share the objective of a
    peaceful, secure, democratic, and prosperous broader Middle East and
    Mediterranean region. With close to =3 billion annually in grants and
    loans from the EU and approximately $2.2 billion in assistance and loan
    guarantees from the U.S., we are the major donors of assistance to the
    region.
        Through our respective efforts, we seek to promote, in close
    cooperation with our partners, human rights and democracy, increased
    access to education and economic opportunities through modern and open
    societies, closer integration within the region and with the global
    economy. Our ongoing cooperation to promote peace throughout the region
    will help our partners to reap the full benefit of their efforts and our
    support.
        We welcome the accomplishments of the Barcelona Process which were
    reviewed at the 7th Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference in
    Luxembourg ahead of the 10th anniversary leaders meeting in November, as
    well as the U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative, launched in 2002.
    We reaffirm our support for the G8's Broader Middle East and North
    Africa initiative. We welcome in particular the establishment of the
    Forum for the Future and look forward to its next meeting in Bahrain
    this autumn.
        We have instructed our respective experts on the region to intensify
    their cooperation in order to strengthen further our support for reform
    and democratic development.
        We welcome the successful elections that have recently taken place
    in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Territories, Iraq and Lebanon.
        While notable progress has been made in a number of countries,
    significant challenges remain. We welcome the amendment to the Egyptian
    constitution as progress towards a more broadly-based representative
    government and encourage the Government of Egypt to play a leadership
    role by opening its forthcoming elections to international observers. In
    these, as in all other elections, we stress the importance of freedom of
    speech, freedom of association and unfettered access to the media, for
    all candidates.
        We share the goal of a peaceful, united and stable Iraq and will
    continue our cooperative efforts towards this end. The confirmation of
    the Iraqi Transitional Government following the successful election in
    January represents an important landmark in the political reconstruction
    of Iraq. We condemn the terrorist acts of forces seeking to disrupt the
    lives of the Iraqi people and the political transition process.
        Two days from today, at the request of the Iraqi Transitional
    Government, we will co-host a conference of nations to express
    international support for Iraq's political transformation, economic
    recovery, and reconstruction, and strengthening of public order and the
    rule of law, in accordance with UNSCR 1546 (2004). We have worked
    closely together to prepare for this important event and we will pursue
    these efforts in following up the Conference. Working with the Iraqi
    authorities, the UN, and other relevant actors, we will seek to
    contribute to the constitutional process and to support the elections
    which will take place on the basis of the new Constitution.

        We recognize the withdrawal of Syrian military personnel from
    Lebanon as a positive first step toward Syria's compliance with UN
    Security Council Resolution 1559. We remain insistent that Resolution
    1559 be implemented in its entirety, including the disarming of all
    militias, and the complete and full withdrawal of all Syrian
    intelligence operatives, as well as an end to interference in Lebanon's
    internal affairs. We reaffirm our full support for the United Nations'
    efforts towards these ends.

        We urge full cooperation by all parties with the independent
    international commission of enquiry of the assassination of

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    former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, established by UNSCR 1595
    (2005).

        We welcome the events that have taken place this year in Lebanon in
    furtherance of the democratic process, including the recent elections.
    We recognize the inherent difficulties facing the new government and
    remain committed to working with the people of Lebanon to strengthen
    democratic institutions and promote peace and stability.

        Once the Lebanese government has defined its reform agenda and
    should it so request, we will consider convening an international
    conference to consolidate support for the Lebanese people and the new
    government.

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement.