The Chairman of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, has visited the Zataari refugee camp in Jordan which is hosting roughly 144,000 Syrians who have fled the Syrian civil war.

"This humanitarian tragedy helps us understand why peace is direly needed. It helps us see international solidarity in action. We must support this solidarity unconditionally. I am aware of the efforts and the deployment of resources to accommodate these refugees in Jordan and also in other neighbouring countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey. We Europeans must live up to our responsibilities and support Jordan and other countries in hosting Syrian refugees", said Daul.

Joseph Daul made this visit a day after the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean which was held in Jordan. It tackled closer cooperation between the parliaments of member countries in various domains, especially in parliamentary spheres.

On Sunday, the EPP family, together with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, convened another meeting in Jordan with Members of Parliament from Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and the Palestinian Authority.

Opening this meeting, Joseph Daul said: "This event continues to build on our political efforts of nurturing special relationships with various political forces active in the Southern basin of the Mediterranean. We are ready to reinforce these relationships at political level, at institutional level and also at the socio-economic level. The human being is central to our political beliefs and we approach issues like individual freedoms, the role of religion and the role of women in a very open fashion.”

“We are more than willing to provide expertise and assistance to countries seeking to establish a political system which respects the rule of law, democracy, human rights and ethnic and religious minorities, but also equality between men and women."

Chairman Daul thanked the President of the Jordanian Parliament for hosting the event and also congratulated Jordan and His Majesty's Government for their steady and peaceful push for state reforms.

MEP Contacts
Joseph DAUL
BRU - Tel: +32 (0)2 2845525, Fax: +32 (0)2 2849525
STR - Tel: +33 (0)3 88 175525, Fax: +33 (0)3 88 179525 
E-mail: joseph.daul@europarl.europa.eu [1]