Aware that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under intense domestic pressure following the war in Lebanon, the EU will not - at least for the time being - press Israel to come out with a new diplomatic initiative, Middle East envoy Marc Otte has told The Jerusalem Post. "The Olmert government needs a bit of breathing space for internal debate following the war," Otte said. "We respect that need." Otte's comments dovetail with other comments made recently by senior EU officials to the effect that the EU was not interested in pressuring Olmert to take steps toward the Palestinians that might make his political situation, already precarious, even more difficult. One official said the EU was not interested in doing anything that might bring a right-wing government to power.
Otte said he was unaware of the new ideas that Olmert, after meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week, said were being discussed to move the diplomatic process with the Palestinians forward. He also said he was unaware of any "extraordinarily bold" initiative about to be launched.