[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.

[[Page 1026]]

    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

[[Page 1027]]

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.