The political initiative of EU High Representative Josep Borrell aimed at paving the way for a Palestinian state in the Middle East is a welcome step towards peace and security in the region, the Party of European Socialists (PES) said today.
PES President Stefan Löfven said:
“We welcome and support High Representative Borrell’s initiative for peace and security, aiming at a comprehensive solution that ends the cycle of violence in the Middle East. The European Union has always been a project for peace and this plan lives up to that legacy.
“It is important to keep alive the hope that the violence and bloodshed can be ended in Israel and Palestine. There is an urgent need to restart the peace process to reach a negotiated two-state solution and a lasting resolution of this conflict that respects the rights of all communities involved.”
Yesterday, President Löfven participated in a European Jewish Association (EJA) Conference in Krakow, Poland. Today, President Löfven, PES Vice President and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Szejna and PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck joined the EJA delegation to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. They joined delegates in paying their respects at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site where 1.1 million people – the overwhelming majority Jews – were murdered by the Nazi regime between 1940 and 1945. Auschwitz-Birkenau stands as a powerful symbol of the dangers of antisemitism and political extremism.
In December, the PES sent a delegation to the Middle East, which visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Kibbutz Be’eri, and Ramallah for high-level meetings with key leaders.
The PES stresses the need to reach a lasting political solution to this conflict, based on a two-state solution, as set out in the PES 2023 Congress resolution. The PES has long advocated for a two-state solution.
