Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-05-Speech-2-095"
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"en.20000905.7.2-095"2
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"Mr President, our debate today reveals a continuing difficulty at the heart of the European Union's approach on foreign policy. Is the intention to give an enlarging group of European nations a stronger voice on the world stage and improve the coordination and effectiveness of their policies on a range of issues? If so, I can support this. Or is the ambition to move towards a European state, with its own foreign and security policy backed by its own diplomatic service and army? This concept I wholeheartedly reject. It is certainly not wanted by the British people, nor, I believe, is it wanted by many of the citizens in the rest of Europe. They have never been asked in honest terms.
Mr Patten today reiterated his view that for the indefinite future there will be national foreign ministers. But this is only half the problem. What will be the content of their jobs in ten years' time if the EU continues on its present course? After all, once EMU is fully established there will still be finance ministers in the euroland countries. But how much real responsibility will they have? Clearly there are many in this House who are quite open in their advocacy of a single foreign ministry for Europe and the Galeote Quecedo report which was voted on today with its proposals for a permanent Community diplomatic service is, I am afraid, a step in this direction.
I am also concerned by the extent to which many want to define European foreign policy in terms of its distinctiveness from the United States policies, sometimes even deliberate hostility to the United States positions. A priority for the European Union must surely be to break out of this antagonistic mindset and instead seek, as a primary aim, to contribute to western solidarity. The best forum for dealing with security policy issues is NATO rather than the European Union and the danger is that the common European security and defence policy, with its emphasis on an autonomous capability, will undermine the alliance which served us so well during more threatening times."@en1
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