Dialogue With the Arab World Top Priority

“Relations with the Arab world are the major theme of the future,” said Hans-Gert Pöttering, newly-elected president of the European Parliament, at his first press conference, as reported by EUX.TV on January 2007, 16. The EP president and former leader of the EPP-ED group in the EP perceived the continuous Euro-Med Conference as a crucial cornerstone to improve relations especially among civil societies.A strategic position in this major policy field includes the cooperation between parliamentarians and political parties. In this context, Pöttering’s EPP-ED group in cooperation with the Regional Program Near East / Mediterranean of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung started already in December 2006 an initiative to strengthen the Euro-Med Dialog through an informal network of political parties.