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Ministerial Meeting of the 5+5 Dialogue
Interview given by Philippe Douste-Blazy, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to "RFI" (excerpts)
Valetta, June 30, 2005
IMMIGRATION Q. In Malta, you, ministers from North, South, the Mediterranean, have discussed migration. Should the migration flow across the Mediterranean be halted?
THE MINISTER We have had a very honest debate on immigration between Europeans and the southern Mediterranean Arab leaders. Clearly, there are immigration source countries sub-Saharan Africa , transfer countries Maghreb , and destination countries Europe. At the same time, we know the European Union has a fertility rate of 1.4% and the United States one of 2.4%, so we obviously need immigration. The question is whether or not we target it. It's the great question for today's European democracies. Faced with populism, demagogies, and at times knee-jerk xenophobic reactions and the rise of the extreme right, we have to think about (...) this immigration issue. In particular, I heard the Tunisian and Italian foreign ministers say they had a common training programme for Tunisian nurses, with Italians going to Tunisia to train them and teach them Italian so that they can then go to Italy, because there aren't enough Italian nurses. Q. That's targeted immigration?
THE MINISTER Absolutely, it's one avenue we talked about. Then we talked about illegal immigration, we have to be very firm about illegal immigration. (...) MIDDLE EAST/ARIEL SHARON Q. You also talked about peace, the peace process in the Middle East, we've had the date of Ariel Sharon's visit to Paris it will be at the end of July. What do you, as Foreign Minister, expect from his visit to France?
THE MINISTER First of all, there's a positive element in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a withdrawal from Gaza. (...) I'm convinced that Prime Minister Sharon is sincere about the withdrawal, he wants to do it. The question is, afterwards, can the political process continue? Will the Roadmap be respected? Q. But by hosting his visit just before the withdrawal begins, are you in a way giving him support?
THE MINISTER The international community is at the same time totally behind both Abu Mazen and Ariel Sharon. It's important for us to have at the same time the feeling that there is an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and, on the other, the desire to help the Palestinians have a health system, cr่ches, in other words, to have a sufficiently solid, coordinated and reliable administration and not one given over to populists and extremists. ALGERIA Q. Yesterday, President Bouteflika had a fairly virulent reaction against France about the act providing for the inclusion in school books of positive phrases on the benefits of colonization. He said that France had an attack of "mental blindness". What's your comment?
THE MINISTER I would say that there's no official history of France. It's inconceivable for the French State to write France's official history and particularly, quite obviously, in Algeria. I have already talked about that, I am keen for both peoples, Algerian and French, to be able, through strong symbols, rapidly to seal their friendship for the decades to come. (...)./.
Embassy of France in the United States - July 6, 2005
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