BRUSSELS, May 19, 2010 (WAFA)- The Council of the European Union adopted a joint action further extending the mandate of the EU Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point until May 24, 2011.

This follows confirmation of agreement from the two Parties, the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Council of the EU had previously adopted three joint actions extending the mandate of the mission until November 24, 2008, November 24, 2009 and May 24, 2010 respectively.

On April 26,  2010, the Council had reaffirmed, in its conclusions on Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), the political importance of EUBAM Rafah and its continued support for the mission. It welcomed the maintenance of the mission's operational capability as well as its reactivation plan, which would ensure a rapid resumption of its full activities at the Rafah Crossing Point.

Maintaining the EU Border Assistance Mission in theater, despite the current suspension of its operations, expresses the EU’s commitment to the Middle East Peace Process and its willingness to fully hold the third-party role proposed by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for the Rafah border in November 2005.

In accordance with the Agreement on Movement and Access and the Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing, the presence of European monitors at the Rafah Crossing Point was a unique way to ensure regular openings of the crossing and enabled nearly half a million people to cross the border between Egypt and Gaza in both directions.