Israel glad Germany will head EU

Israeli diplomatic officials are breathing a sigh of relief that Germany, considered one of Israel's strongest supporters in Europe, will be taking over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Monday for the next six months.

The president of the EU, according to officials in Jerusalem, has a great deal of influence over the agenda and the tone of the statements that come out of the EU.

The German presidency, according to sources in Jerusalem, is especially welcome since it follows the Finnish tenure, a tenure marked by concern that the EU would be open to watering down the international community's three criteria for recognizing a Hamas-led Palestinian government, and for being open to new diplomatic initiatives that were not closely linked to the road map.

While in the end, none of this materialized, there was a sense in Jerusalem over the last half-year that Finland was among those in Europe interested in finding "short cuts" for Hamas to give them legitimacy without the organization having had to fulfill completely the three requirements: recognizing Israel, forswearing terrorism, and accepting previous agreements.

In contrast, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met last month in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and said after the meeting that there was a great deal of agreement between Berlin and Jerusalem concerning the need to remain firm on the three criteria, as well as on how to move forward diplomatically on the Palestinian track.

The Germans will hold the presidency until July 1, when Portugal will take over.

Happy New Year, y´all!

Einen guten Rutsch, my friend, and a blessed 2007. That looked like one heck of a party at the Gate.

2 posted on 01/01/2007 1:37:37 AM PST by RichInOC ("Mr. Gorbachev...come to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!...tear down this wall!")

Thanks, ein gutes neues Jahr to you too! Btw, the "guten Rutsch" derives from "tov rosh" (hebrew for "a good start"). So by wishing a "guten Rutsch" we have preserved a little jewish culture. :-)

Happy New Year German Freepers !!!!

Best regards for 2007.

4 posted on 01/01/2007 2:51:41 AM PST by ARE SOLE (I thought the Party was supposed to court the voters and not the other way around?)

5 posted on 01/01/2007 2:51:58 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)

6 posted on 01/01/2007 2:52:26 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)

To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..

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7 posted on 01/01/2007 2:17:10 PM PST by SJackson (had to move the national debate from whether to stay the course to how do we start down the path out)

A littlebit late but I like to join in:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Eve is always something spechial to me, since it is my birthday.

P.S.

My wife is celebrating birthday on Dezember 24th. This is NO joke. :-)

8 posted on 01/01/2007 4:05:18 PM PST by Atlantic Bridge (De omnibus dubitandum)

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