| 25.01.2009 | 10:00 UTC
EU to discuss German Middle East plan
A newspaper report suggests that a proposal drafted by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier could form the basis of future European Union policy on the Middle East. The report, published in this Sunday's edition of the Welt am Sonntag, quotes diplomatic sources in Berlin who say that the document has already been endorsed by France, Britain, Italy and Spain. The aim of the initiative is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Steinmeier's plan also covers humanitarian aid and halting weapons smuggling into Gaza. The proposal is to be discussed during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
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