VENICE DECLARATION
(Declaration of the European Council on the Middle East inVenice, 13 June 1980)
1) The heads of state and government and the Ministers forForeign Affairs held a comprehensive exchange of views on all aspects of thepresent situation in the Middle East, including the state of negociationsresulting from the agreements signed between Egypt and Israel in March 1979.They agreed that growing tensions affecting this region constitute a seriousdanger and render a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict morenecessary and pressing than ever.
2) The nine member states of the European Community considerthat the traditional ties and common interests which link Europe to the MiddleEast oblige them to play a special role and now require them to work in a moreconcrete way towards peace.
3) In this regard, the nine countries of the Community basethemselves on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the positions whichthey have expressed on several occasions, notably in their declarations of 29June 1977, 19 September 1978, 26 March and 18 June 1979, as well as in thespeech made on their behalf on 25 September 1979 by the Irish Minister forForeign Affairs at the 34th United Nations General Assembly.
4) On the bases thus set out, the time has come to promotethe recognition and implementation of the two principles universally accepted bythe international community : the right to existence and to security of allstates in the region, including Israel, and justice for all the peoples, whichimplies the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
5) All of the countries in the area are entitled to live inpeace within secure, recognised and guaranteed borders. The necessary guaranteesfor a peace settlement should be provided by the United Nations by a decision ofthe Security Council and, if necessary, on the basis of other mutually agreedprocedures. The Nine declare that they are prepared to participate within theframework of a comprehensive settlement in a system of concrete and bindinginternational guarantees, including on the ground.
6) A just solution must finally be found to the Palestinianproblem, which is not simply one of refugees. The Palestinian people, which isconscious of existing as such, must be placed in a position, by an appropriateprocess defined within the framework of the comprehensive peace settlement, toexercise fully its right to self-determination.
7) The achievement of these objectives requires theinvolvement and support of all the parties concerned in the peace settlementwhich the Nine are endeavouring to promote in keeping with the principlesformulated in the declaration referred to above. These principles are binding onall the parties concerned, and thus the Palestinian people, and on the PLO,which will have to be associated with the negociations.
8) The Nine recognises the special importance of the roleplayed by the question of Jerusalem for all the parties concerned. The Ninestress that they will not accept any unilateral initiative designed to changethe status of Jerusalem and that any agreement on the city's status shouldguarantee freedom of access for everyone to the Holy Places.
9) The Nine stress the need for Israel to put an end to theterritorial occupation which it has maintained since the conflict of 1967, as ithas done for part of Sinai. They are deeply convinced that the Israelisettlements constitutes a serious obstacle to the peace process in the MiddleEast. The Nine consider that these settlements, as well as modifications inpopulation and property in the occupied Arab territories, are illegal underinternational law.
10) Concerned as they are to put an end to violence, the Nineconsider that only the renunciation of force or the threatened use of force byall the parties can create a climate of confidence in the area, and constitute abasic element for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in the Middle East.
11) The Nine have decided to make the necessary contacts withall the parties concerned. The objective of these contacts would be to ascertainthe position of the various parties with respect to the principles set out inthis declaration and in the light of the results of this consultation process todetermine the form which an initiative on their part could take.
(January 1991)
Source: Medea - European Institute for Research onMediterranean and Euro-Arab Co-operation