EU-ME-Engagement
A top European Union official is traveling to the Middle East next week to raise Europe's engagement in the region following growing disillusionment with US polices in the region.

European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy (ENP) Benita Ferrero-Waldner will visit Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan from February 26 to March 1 to discuss with key interlocutors ways to strengthen relations with the EU.

The visit will also be an opportunity to explore with all parties the current state of play in the Middle East peace process and how the EU can work with partners to create conditions for progress, said a Commission statement Friday.

"We all have an interest in maintaining the political momentum of recent weeks. I look forward to discussing with all parties how we can each play our part in keeping the hope of progress towards peace in the Middle East alive," said Ferrero-Waldner on the eve of her visit.

Earlier Friday in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and discussed with him the latest situation and developments in Palestine.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will meet President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen the partnership between the EU and Egypt through the ENP Action Plan, which will be adopted by the EU-Egypt Association Council on March 6 in Brussels.

Following the trilateral summit between Zionist Prime Minister Olmert and Abbas in the presence of US Secretary of State Rice and the Middle East Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) meeting in Berlin, Ferrero-Waldner will meet Zionist officials in occupied Al-Qods (Jerusalem) on Tuesday on ways to advance the peace process.

The following day she will hold talks with Abbas and other PA officials on how to maintain the momentum towards unity in the Palestinian political process following the Mecca agreement.

She will explore the ideas that the European Commission is developing to better coordinate and mobilize international assistance in support of the political process and to meet the needs of the Palestinian people, including through the existing Temporary International Mechanism.

Finally, on Thursday, Ferrero-Waldner will meet Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit and other officials in Amman to exchange views on how to further improve the partnership between the EU and Jordan, the role the EU can play in supporting Jordan's reform agenda, and Jordan's role in the Middle East peace process.

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