STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA Labour MEP for Dublin

Monday, January 11, 2010 ‘DEFENDING HOPE IN GAZA’ DE ROSSA
Speaking today at the launch of Frontline's Photographic Exhibition 'Defending Hope in Gaza', a pictorial record of Israel's January 2009 war on Gaza in which more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians including 300 children, were killed, Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa called for an immediate and unconditional end to the two-and-half year Israeli siege of Gaza. He said: "Israel's siege of Gaza, now in its third year, continues to cause death and appalling suffering. The denial of the most basic of human rights, not only the right to a life of dignity but to life itself, is contrary to international law and to the UN Charter. The siege also has the perverse effect of ensuring impunity for breaches of human rights by the Hamas-controlled junta in Gaza. "Ending of the siege of Gaza would transform the living conditions of the 1.5 million men, women and children who are prisoners in their own land, and create the potential for political progress at a time when hope is fast fading for a negotiated two-state solution. "Last December I led an official cross-party delegation of MEPs on a fact-finding visit to Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Gaza; at the last minute we had been denied access to Gaza by the Israeli authorities. In the course of our visit it was clear that Israel’s colonisation of Palestinian territory by settlers in the West bank and Jerusalem, coupled with its siege of Gaza, is breeding despair particularly amongst the young. The moderate leaders we met appealed to us to impress on European Union Member State governments the urgent need to act firmly in support of human rights and the right of Palestinians to their own independent, homeland, alongside Israel. They welcomed the strong 8 December statement by European Union Foreign Ministers (which coincided with out visit) outlining Europe’s support for a Palestinian state and for a halt to the colonisation of the West bank and East Jerusalem, but warned that this statement had to be followed up without delay with actions. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved over the past twelve months. Only a trickle of the goods necessary for a normal life is being allowed in by Israel, a fact confirmed by Israel’s own monthly statistics. Despite their best efforts, the UN and the other humanitarian and human rights NGOs in Gaza cannot overcome the devastation caused by the War and the destruction of the economy. Only an end to the siege can effectively address that. We cannot continue to do business with Israel as if it was fully in compliance with international law. If Israel were a member of the EU it would be expelled because of its persistent breach of the legal norms, the basic requirements for EU membership. "I would now urge the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michael Martin T.D. to follow up his excellent initiative in seeking to access Gaza to see things for himself, which was also blocked by Israel, by unilaterally initiating a series of political and commercial steps in Ireland to exert pressure on Israel to end the siege. "This could include measures that ensure that all imports from Israel are clearly identified as such, and that no goods or food produced in the illegal settlements are allowed into Ireland. "He could also insist that companies tendering for public procurement contracts in Ireland establish that they are not engaged in any way in supporting illegal activity by Israel such as building the notorious and illegal 'Separation Wall', and that they do not have subsidiaries operating in the illegal settlements. "The Minister could also use Ireland’s well-known influence with the White House to encourage the Obama administration to re-engage alongside Europe, in pushing for the restarting of negotiations. He could follow-up these initiatives by encouraging other EU states to do likewise. ENDS Contact Proinsias De Rossa 087-254-4644
www.labour.ie/press EDITORS’ NOTE: The photographic exhibition 'Defending Hope in Gaza' is being launched today (6.30pm) at 'Filmbase', Curved St., Temple Bar, Dublin 2 by Mary Lalor of Frontline, Khalil Shaneen of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Proinsias De Rossa MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council. www.derossa.com www.frontlinedefenders.org

The Lisbon Treaty is now in full force, from January 1.

But Free Europe Constitution does not give in. We will continue to be a part of the atmosphere of freedom in Europe. We believe that the Lisbon treaty is a grand mistake. However, history will judge.
But you can express your view already now - welcome to referendline at http://www.freeeurope.info/
Make history.
Read Free Europe Constitution - and vote Yes.
http://www.freeeurope.info/ is a private, positive initiative. It is a contribution to a widening public agenda in Europe. It is independent from parties and organizations. It is the first possibility for all Europeans and their friends worldwide to have a common say about the future path of European affairs. Astonishing, fascinating, and promising.

Prospect for Peace in Middle East - Invitation from De Rossa

Prospect for Peace in Middle East - Invitation from De Rossa


As the prospects of an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian State appear to fade, I would like to invite you to a public meeting on the Potential for Peace in the Middle East I am hosting on Friday, 15 January at 6.30pm in Europe House, Dawson St., Dublin 2.
The principal speaker will be Colin Irwin of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, who has studied other peace processes throughout the world, including in Northern Ireland and the Balkans and who will give his insights and assessments of the Middle Eastern situation at the start of 2010. There will also be time for questions and answers
To register for this meeting, please contact my Dublin Office, 01.8746109 or proinsias.derossa@europarl.europa.eu.
With best wishes,
Proinsias De Rossa MEP
President, European Parliament Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council (DPLC)
Leader, Labour Party MEPs, European Parliament.
Prospects for Peace in the Middle East
Friday, January 15th from 6.30pmEurope House, Dawson Street, Dublin

STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA MEP

Labour MEP for Dublin Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ISRAELI SIEGE OF GAZA MUST END
Taking part in a demonstration at the Israeli Embassy in Dublin this afternoon to commemorate the Israeli invasion of Gaza, Proinsias De Rossa MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, called for an end to Israel's continuing, brutal siege of Gaza. Mr De Rossa said: “One year ago on a visit to Gaza following the Israeli War on the people there, I met people whose families had been almost completely wiped out, such as the surviving members of the Samouni family, 47 of whose members had been killed by Israeli bombs, including eight children and eight women. "Israel's siege of Gaza, which has now been underway for more than two years, is destroying all hope. Gaza, which is half the size of County Louth, has been turned into a prison for the population of 1.5m people, half of whom are under 18 years of age. "The Irish Government must renew its demand for an end to the siege and unilaterally initiate political and commercial steps to demonstrate to Israel that its actions in Gaza, and its settlement and apartheid activity in the West bank and East Jerusalem, are simply not acceptable.” ENDS.

For further information, contact Proinsias

De Rossa at 087 254 4644. http://www.derossa.com/

seek a new way forward" with the Muslim world.

Dear Friends,

In his inaugural address on January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama declared his intention to "seek a new way forward" with the Muslim world. The president then went to Cairo to give a remarkable speech to the people of the Middle East and Muslim communities everywhere. Many of us were pleased to see that in that speech, the president focused not only on issues of state security -- countering radicalism, solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, stopping nuclear proliferation -- but also on issues of individual human dignity: democracy, religious freedom, the rights of women, and development. The president articulated what many of us have come to believe: that the U.S. has a vital interest in encouraging human development in the Middle East; that, in President Obama's words, "we have a stake in one another."
However, while Obama's election and his words garnered surprising praise in key Middle Eastern countries, his administration has failed to follow up the inspiring words of the Cairo Address with substantive actions. This has contributed to rising disappointment among individuals who hoped that Obama's election would signal a more enlightened approach to U.S. policy in the region, including youth, a crucially important demographic. In October and November, POMED hosted dialogue conferences in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, together with our partners at USIP and Georgetown University, to gather feedback and recommendations for the Obama administration. Over the weekend, I published a piece on Foreign Policy's website based on some of what we heard from participants in those conferences. It's pasted below.
Let me know what you think of this piece -- and tell us what ideas you have for the Obama Administration as it seeks to follow up on the inspiring words of the Cairo speech. And please watch for our final conference report, which we will release the week of January 18th in a pair of events with representatives from each of the conferences.
Best,
Andrew
Losing Cairo?
Since Barack Obama's speech six months ago, the Muslim world has begun to lose hope in the United States. But it's not too late ... yet.
BY ANDREW ALBERTSON DECEMBER 24, 2009
Six months after U.S. President Barack Obama's widely heralded speech in Cairo, young people in the Middle East are beginning to lose patience with his administration. That's bad news for the hope that the United States might mark a new beginning with Muslim communities. From Marrakesh to Tehran, two out of every three people in the Middle East are under the age of 30. To a very large degree, the future of U.S. relations with the Muslim world rests in their hands.
Last month, I traveled to Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to speak with some of the region's top young civic leaders about U.S. policies and their recommendations for the Obama administration. I arrived well aware of how important their opinions are; wherever young people's hopes are overwhelmed by frustrations -- whether the inability to land a job or the visceral sense that theirs is a world of repression and injustice -- the United States and its allies will be less secure. And here's what I heard: While the president's election and speech in Cairo were surprisingly well-received, the administration's glaring lack of follow-up has led to mounting disappointment.
Across the Middle East, Obama elicited surprisingly positive responses in public opinion surveys early in his administration, and Middle Eastern youth were particularly receptive. They saw in his identity as much as in his words the hope of change.
By now, however, disappointment is beginning to set in. The president's inability to rein in Israeli settlements in the months since the Cairo speech is one chief complaint. But there's more. In that message, pointedly directed at the region's people and not just their governments, Obama also raised four key "human dignity" issues: democracy, religious freedom, women's rights, and development. Since then, the administration has done almost nothing to back those words up with actions, a fact that has not gone unnoticed.
To be fair, the United States faces an uphill battle. Authoritarian leaders from Morocco to Tunisia to Jordan, each bent on staying in power indefinitely, have worked diligently to close down rallies, civic organizations, and any hint of political space in recent years. The situation worsened after Washington downgraded its diplomatic support for democratization in the region in mid-2006 after Hamas narrowly won elections in the Palestinian territories. Three years later, Washington finds itself with fewer civil society partners than it might have otherwise had.
Unfortunately, rather than standing up to such authoritarians to try to reverse the tides, Obama seems to be caving to pressure. Strongman leaders such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bet that, because of their importance to U.S. diplomatic goals in the region, they could pressure the White House to reduce its support for civil society groups in their respective countries.
The administration complied. In its budget proposal for fiscal year 2010, passed Dec. 13 by Congress, the administration requested significant cuts in democracy and governance aid for civic groups working for change in both countries. And in Egypt, the administration appears now to have agreed that aid programs will fund only groups the Egyptian government has officially approved. Those moves come in stark contrast to the Cairo speech, which paired concern for human dignity with a rejection of the idea that democracy can be promoted by force. Unfortunately, in all but words, the administration is coming up woefully short.
Consider the follow-up speech U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made last month at a regional summit in Morocco. Clinton explained to her audience that though the Cairo speech was intended to launch a comprehensive new beginning between the United States and Muslim communities, the administration had decided, upon further reflection, that it would focus on only three areas of development: entrepreneurship, science and technology, and education. Democracy, religious freedom, and women's rights did not appear as part of the Cairo follow-up plans.
If one takes the charitable view, we might commend the administration for finding "shovel-ready" projects. By focusing on entrepreneurship, science, science and technology, and education, the administration found initiatives that got Arab government support. But there's a problem here that the region's young people quickly point out: The easy targets aren't necessarily the important ones. While Clinton correctly highlights jobs as a key issue in the Middle East -- particularly jobs for unemployed youth -- Washington does the region no favors by offering an entrepreneurship summit, one of its new initiatives, while avoiding the root problems hindering business such as political decay and corruption. The United States will need to do far more if it hopes to demonstrate a sincere commitment to encouraging broad-based development of the sort that actually affects people's lives.
My conversations with young activists in the region continue to give me hope that the Obama administration has a unique opportunity to shift perceptions of the United States among youth in the Middle East. But doing so will require effective new initiatives on the goals the president raised in his Cairo speech, including democracy, religious freedom, women's rights, and development. And it will require sustained efforts to listen and respond to the region's people -- not just their governments.

Andrew Albertson is executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). In October and November, POMED and its partners convened dialogues in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, which generated 56 recommendations for Barack Obama's administration.

Brian Cowen, T.D.Taoiseach

This week's Budget is a crucial step on Ireland's road to recovery. We have to show the international markets that we are capable of getting our economy back on track. Confidence is the gold standard in today's global economy. Our actions are already improving international perceptions of Ireland, and will help us to continue to attract the investment on which we depend. Read some international reactions to the Budget here:http://www.fiannafail.ie/reactionsHowever, the Budget involves decisions which will, for obvious reasons, be unwelcome to many people around the country. Reducing our deficit, curtailing expenditure, and restoring balance to the public finances will not be easy. This Budget is difficult for everyone. These steps must be taken, and taken now. It would certainly not be fair to saddle future generations - our children - with more debt.I'm acutely aware of the difficulty and the pain these cuts will cause people. We had to take these difficult decisions so we can move forward again. We do this, not because we want to, but because we must for the good of the country.It is a priority for this Party to protect existing jobs and create new ones. The introduction of a new employer PRSI exemption for new employees, which will reduce the cost of creating new jobs, will help to get the economy moving again.We are also prioritising projects with the most immediate positive impact on jobs and growth. This Budget is the start of a new phase - where we begin to create sustainable jobs as the global economy begins to pick up.You can find out more about how the Budget will affect you and your family and the steps we are taking to get Ireland back on the road to economic recovery here:http://www.fiannafail.ie/budget2010Ireland can come through these testing times. We will be strengthened for the future, having learned the lessons of the unexpected full-scale crisis, both domestic and global, that we have had to face. Realism and solidarity will help us through the difficult times, and renew our confidence for the future.
Yours sincerely,Brian Cowen, T.D.Taoiseach

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, TD and the budget

Next week, I will deliver Budget 2010 to the Dáil. The Government has to make some very difficult choices. Some of the measures we will have to introduce will be unpopular. I am mailing you to tell you why these measures are necessary.

The economic future of this country is on the line. As a small open economy, we are highly dependent on trade and on foreign investment. We need to show the world that we are capable of getting our economy back on track. Our tax revenues are now back at 2003 levels. But since then, our spending on day-to-day services has risen by 70%.

This is unsustainable.

The experience of the 1980s shows us that if we delay in tackling this problem, we will quickly get into a spiral of mounting debt and ever-increasing interest costs. If we live in denial and continue to borrow to try to sustain boom-era lifestyles, we will surely condemn our children to a life less prosperous than ours.

We must not allow this to happen.

We must restore confidence in order to begin the process of economic recovery. The best way to inspire confidence in consumers, in investors, and in the international markets who lend us money, is to show that we can take the necessary steps to get ourselves in order. That is why the Government has committed to reducing the deficit by €4 billion next year.

Next week's Budget will be difficult for everyone. It will be a test of our ability to rise above our current difficulties, to get beyond sectional interests, and to return to the road of economic recovery.

For our party, it will be a test of our ability to put aside short term political considerations and to act, as we have done many times in our history, in the interests of the common good.

I hope you will support us in the difficult decisions we must take to get Ireland back on the road to economic prosperity.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Lenihan, TD
Minister for Finance

Wish you Eid Mubarak معايدات عيد الاضحى المبارك