The Document “14 points for peace in the Caucasus” is prepared to become a European Parliament resolution

Politics meet popular diplomacy: bipartisan Euro MPs together at Rondine (Arezzo) for a peace project. It will happen on Saturday, February 19, at 3:30 p.m. with the meeting “EU towards the Caucasus”, a round table behind closed doors for experts. The main representatives from different institutions of the European Union, belonging to the political parties of different groups of the European Parliament, will meet and exchange opinions regarding the popular diplomacy project entitled “Ventidipacesucaucaso” (Winds of peace on Caucasus) in the association’s Marquee in the small Tuscan village of Rondine, Citadel of Peace.

Started by an initiative of the students of Rondine after the conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, the project particularly revolves round the “Document in 14 points for Peace in the Caucasus” approved unanimously by the 150 participants at the first International Conference of the Peoples of the Caucasus in May 2009 at La Verna (Italy), all belonging to 15 Caucasian peoples and coming from different parts of the world.

Though belonging to different political alignments, Euro Mps have decided to join forces in the name of a common cause: turn the “14 points” in an elaborate proposal for it to become a European Parliament resolution.

The prime movers of the initiative will officially open the meeting: David Sassoli (Delegation for relations with Israel), Carlo Casini (President of the Constitutional Affairs Committee) and Vittorio Prodi (Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee). Claudio Morganti (EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee), Paolo Bartolozzi (EU-Kazakhstan parliamentary cooperation Committees), Leonardo Domenici (EU-Russia parliamentary cooperation Committee), Silvia Costa (Vice-chair of the Delegation for relation with Iraq) and Katarina Nevedalova (Education and Culture Committee) will also intervene.

Rosy Bindi (Vice-president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), Riccardo Migliori (Vice-president of the OSCE parliamentary Assembly), Cosimo Risi (Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry), monsignore Riccardo Fontana, archbishop of Arezzo, and Roberto Vasai, president of the Province of Arezzo will take part in the workday.

Franco Vaccari, president of the association Rondine Cittadella della Pace will chair the meeting.

The project “Ventidipacesucaucaso” addressed European institutions since its beginnings. The “14 points” were delivered to the special representative of the European Union for Southern Caucasus, Peter Semneby and to the EU representative and co-president of the Peace Table for the crisis in Georgia, Pierre Morel.

In July 2010, during the “Friendship Trip” to the Southern Caucasus and Turkey of the association, many authorities received the document. In June 2010 the students of the Citadel of Peace delivered it to the deputies of different groups of the European Parliament.

“Ventidipacesucaucaso” is realized with the contribution of: the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Banca Etruria, the Chamber of Commerce of Arezzo, the Province of Arezzo.