Daily newspaper "Inostranets"

February 20, 2001, N 5 (362), p.5

Main news

RADICALS DEMAND TO ACCEPT ISRAEL FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION

The deputies to the European Parliament - members of the Transnational Radical Party began to collect signatures under the Declaration in favour of Israel's full participation in the European Union. They demand that the EU immediately prepare a study and undertake concrete steps that would ensure Israel's full participation in the European Union (now Israel is an associated member of the EU).

The declaration reads that "an isolated and independent State of Israel can no longer in any way guarantee the liberty and rights of its own citizens, the Middle East and the Mediterranean world of which it is part, in a state of security, whether it be its own or that of others". Therefore the EU "cannot deceive itself that it is upholding its fundamental ideals, raisons d'etre and goals, and seeing them upheld, if it is unable to deal with in a timely manner and with extraordinary determination, rigour and urgency, extraordinary emergencies and historical situations". In this case it implies that it's possible to ensure security of Israel by means of its full participation in the EU, as a result its frontiers will be considered to be frontiers of the European Union. More than 20 deputies to the European Parliament signed already the declaration.