(Communicated by the Office of the President)
On Tuesday, 5 March 2013, President Shimon Peres will depart for a visit to
the European Union (Brussels, Paris and Strasbourg) and will conduct a series of
diplomatic, economic and security meetings with senior leaders on a range of
issues of importance to Israel including the Iranian nuclear threat, Syria's
chemical weapons stockpile, arms smuggling into Lebanon, the peace process
between Israel and the Palestinians and the strengthening of strategic relations
between Israel and the European Union.
During the visit President Peres will meet with heads of state including the
President of France, Francois Hollande (8 March), the Prime Minister of Belgium
Elio Di Rupo (6 March) and the President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev (6 March)
as well as with the leaders of the European Union including the President of the
European Parliament Martin Schulz (12 March), the President of the European
Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (7 March) and the President of the European
Council Herman Van Rompuy (6 March). The meetings will take place in the context
of the inquiry into the terror
attack in Bulgaria which found that Hezbollah
was responsible for the bombing and the subsequent discussions within Europe
on the consequences.
President Peres will also hold strategic meetings with the Secretary General
of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen (8 March in Brussels) and the OECD
Secretary-General Angel Gurria (8 March in Paris) before delivering a speech to
the senior economic forum of the OECD which will include hundreds of
representatives of global companies, heads of the economic committees and the
ambassadors of the member countries. President Peres will lay out his vision for
the role of global companies in creating change in the Middle East.
President Peres will conclude the visit with an historic speech in
Strasbourg before the European Parliament. The speech will be the first
by an Israeli leader before the European Parliament in its current format.
President Peres' historic speech at the European Parliament will be broadcast
live via the European Union's website