We want to see the State of Israel and a sovereign and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security".

Pursuant to the Convention, only sovereign States may be party to it.

This Protocol shall be open for signature at Kiev (Ukraine) from 21 to 23 May 2003 on the occasion of the fifth Ministerial Conference ‘Environment for Europe’, and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 31 December 2003, by all States which are Members of the United Nations and by regional economic integration organisations constituted by sovereign States Members of the United Nations to which their Member States have transferred competence over matters governed by this Protocol, including the competence to enter into treaties in respect of these matters.

The European Union is convinced that the creation of a democratic, viable and peaceful sovereign Palestinian State on the basis of existing agreements and through negotiations would be the best guarantee of Israel's security and Israel's acceptance as an equal partner in the region.

The ACP States reaffirm the point of view they expressed throughout the negotiations on the rules of origin in respect of fishery products and consequently maintain that following the exercise of their sovereign rights over fishery resources in the waters within their national jurisdiction, including the exclusive economic zone, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, all catches effected in those waters and obligatorily landed in ports of the ACP States for processing should enjoy originating status.

Traditional judicial cooperation in criminal matters is based on a variety of international legal instruments, which are overwhelmingly characterised by what one might call the "request"-principle: One sovereign state makes a request to another sovereign state, who then determines whether it will or will not comply with this request.