(1)

On 21 July 2003, the Council adopted Joint Action 2003/537/CFSP (1) appointing Mr Marc OTTE European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Middle East peace process.

(2)

On 18 February 2008, the Council adopted Joint Action 2008/133/CFSP (2) amending and extending the mandate of the EUSR until 28 February 2009.

(3)

On the basis of a review of Joint Action 2008/133/CFSP, the mandate of the EUSR should be extended for a further 12-month period.

(4)

The EUSR will implement his mandate in the context of a situation which may deteriorate and could harm the Common Foreign and Security Policy objectives set out in Article 11 of the Treaty,

(a)

provide an active and efficient contribution from the European Union to actions and initiatives leading to a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese conflicts;

(b)

facilitate and maintain close contact with all the parties to the Middle East peace process, other countries of the region, members of the Middle East Quartet and other relevant countries, as well as the UN and other relevant international organisations, in order to work with them in strengthening the peace process;

(c)

ensure continued presence of the European Union on the ground and in relevant international forums and contribute to crisis management and prevention;

(d)

observe and support peace negotiations between the parties and offer the European Union’s advice and good offices as appropriate;

(e)

contribute, where requested, to the implementation of international agreements reached between the parties and engage with them diplomatically in the event of non-compliance with the terms of these agreements;

(f)

pay particular attention to factors having implication for the regional dimension of the Middle East peace process;

(g)

engage constructively with signatories to agreements within the framework of the peace process in order to promote compliance with the basic norms of democracy, including respect for human rights and the rule of law;

(h)

contribute to the implementation of the European Union human rights policy and European Union Guidelines on Human Rights, in particular with regard to children and women in conflict affected areas, especially by monitoring and addressing developments in this regard;

(i)

report on the possibilities for European Union intervention in the peace process and on the best way of pursuing European Union initiatives and ongoing Middle East peace process-related European Union efforts, such as the contribution of the European Union to Palestinian reforms, and including the political aspects of relevant European Union development projects;

(j)

monitor actions by either side on the implementation of the roadmap and on issues that might prejudice the outcome of the permanent status negotiations to enable the Middle East Quartet to better assess the parties’ compliance;

(k)

engage in wider collaboration on Security Sector Reform in cooperation with the European Commission and the US Security Coordinator and facilitate cooperation on security issues with all relevant actors;

(l)

contribute to a better understanding of the role of the European Union among opinion leaders in the region.

(a)

establishing a mission-specific security plan based on guidance from the General Secretariat of the Council, including mission-specific physical, organisational and procedural security measures, governing management of the secure movement of personnel to, and within, the mission area, as well as management of security incidents and including a mission contingency and evacuation plan;

(b)

ensuring that all personnel deployed outside the EU are covered by high risk insurance as required by the conditions in the mission area;

(c)

ensuring that all members of his team to be deployed outside the EU, including locally contracted personnel, have received appropriate security training before or upon arriving in the mission area, based on the risk ratings assigned to the mission area by the General Secretariat of the Council;

(d)

ensuring that all agreed recommendations made following regular security assessments are implemented and providing the SG/HR, the Council and the Commission with written reports on their implementation and on other security issues within the framework of the mid-term and mandate implementation reports.