Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-14-Speech-3-193"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000614.8.3-193"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, when we start to examine an issue like this we should remind ourselves of the European Union’s general attitude to its external relations. The EU has a set of values and principles which it naturally tries to promote in its relations and which it tries to use in all areas of its associations with third countries. Contrary to what may be inferred from one honourable Member’s intervention, the European Union does not act according to geographical position by being more demanding on countries which are closer and less demanding on countries which are further away. We do not work in this way. We usually use uniform criteria and, in particular, the idea that it is preferable to open areas for dialogue in order to encourage countries to make regular bilateral assessments of what is causing exclusion factors or misunderstandings. In this respect, the work of the Council and Commission is totally coherent. In particular, and I do not really need to say this, Commissioner Patten has more credentials than most of us on the issue of respect for human rights.
On the specific issue of Tunisia, I must say that the Council is fully aware of the human rights situation in this country. It has noted all the concerns expressed on various occasions by this House. Naturally, it has also noted the considerable concerns expressed here today.
The Council has on several occasions emphasised to the Tunisian authorities its concern about the occurrence of certain situations, particularly the lack of general freedom and press freedom in particular. Human rights issues are frequently discussed, as the speakers have noted, within the political dialogue which the Council is conducting with Tunisia within the Association Council and through the Heads of Mission of the Member States in Tunis who have regular meetings with the relevant Tunisian government officials in this area.
At the moment this dialogue is centred specifically on the current reforms of the new press law, the operation and functions of the penalty enforcement judge and the amendments of electoral law. The possibility of such a dialogue, which Tunisia did refuse for some time, represents significant progress. During the two meetings of the Association Council which took place as part of our relations with Tunisia and which I attended, the Council reiterated the fundamental importance to relations between the European Union and Tunisia of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and, naturally, it used the opportunity to highlight certain specific cases, some of which have been mentioned here.
On a more national note, during the State visit by President Ben Ali to Portugal at the beginning of May, the Foreign Minister, Jaime Gama, had the opportunity to raise with his Tunisian counterpart the human rights situation in Tunisia and in particular the case of the journalist, Taouffik Ben Brick. He underlined the constant need to respect fundamental freedoms.
We realise that any kind of action in terms of political pressure can have advantages where carried out through the media. We believe that there is room for several dimensions to be used in the international arena on this type of issue and we do not reject the efficacy of these actions. However, the Council prefers to use the opportunities for influencing the Tunisian authorities more discreetly, and perhaps more effectively, by maintaining constructive pressure on them through political dialogue and various meetings at different levels. We do not consider it appropriate to initiate the procedures needed to suspend the Association Agreement or to convene an extraordinary session of the Association Council which would probably be reported in the media but which would have no practical effect in specific terms. Maintaining regular dialogue and continuing all the steps which have been made so far, when and if appropriate, is the right way to proceed in this context. Despite these difficulties and the problems in moving this process forward which we all recognise, we must accept that there have been positive results. We cannot ignore, and it would be politically incorrect to so do, the gestures of openness already made by Tunisia, particularly in freeing 600 political prisoners, returning passports to certain members of the opposition and being clearly willing to reduce tensions in the case of the journalist, Taouffik Ben Brick, and accepting his specific claims. The Commission has also tried to finance actions in order to promote human rights and democracy in Tunisia through the MEDA programme for democracy and may provide further information in this respect.
Finally, in the Barcelona Declaration, Tunisia, like the other Mediterranean partner countries, signed up to certain principles involving respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Within the EU-Mediterranean framework and in reinforcing this framework as we are trying to do at the moment in close cooperation with the European Commission, we are also insisting on the importance of actively promoting the rule of law and the good management of public affairs which constitutes a key area in the dialogue between the two sides of the Mediterranean.
To conclude, I must assure you that the Council remains committed to promoting and reinforcing in Tunisia, as in other countries with which the EU maintains relations, respect for human rights, democratic principles and fundamental freedoms, and to establishing a true democracy with an open civil society based on a rule of law. A measured policy is, in our opinion, the best way to achieve these objectives. The Council will continue to pursue discreet but firm diplomacy and will continue its policy of encouraging all forms of progress towards democracy and the rule of law."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples