European Union leaders arrived today in Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat on the second leg of a whirlwind Middle East tour which they hope will help revive the peace process, despite Israeli coolness.
The high-ranking EU delegation met this evening for two hours with Mr Arafat in a quest to revive the peace process, an official Palestinian source said.
EU leaders had begun their tour this morning in Egypt with the hopes of kickstarting the peace process, but an Israeli official poured cold water on the mission, calling the EU "pro-Arab and anti-Israel".
But EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana told journalists after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that he expected "positive" developments in the next few weeks.
"I do have the impression that the situation may be better," he said.
Mr Solana, who said the peace process did not need a new initiative but "a political will", was accompanying the highest-level EU mission to the region since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation nearly 14 months ago.
It is led by Belgian Prime Minister Mr Guy Verhofstadt, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, and also includes European Commission head Mr Romano Prodi and Belgian Foreign Minister Mr Louis Michel.
Sources within the delegation said the EU is hoping for a greater commitment by the United States that would allow the process to be unblocked.
"All the plans are there, the Tenet agreement and the Mitchell report. Now we have to push both parties to start to implement these plans. The EU and Egypt need to pressure both parties," Mr Solana said.
The report from a commission headed by former US senator George Mitchell recommends a halt to violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and a period of calm followed by confidence-building measures including a freeze on settlements and a restart of negotiations on the final status of the Palestinian territories.
The Tenet memorandum, named after the head of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) George Tenet, sets out arrangements for a ceasefire which was supposed to come into force in mid-June.
But an Israeli official in Mr Sharon's office told AFP, "The European Union cannot hope to play a more active role in the negotiations because of its unbalanced positions, its pro-Arab and anti-Israeli tendencies."
AFP