Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-12-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20030312.1.3-014"2
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".
May I point out in response to the peace demonstration, Mr President, that following decisions taken by the summit Council and the Council of Foreign Ministers on 27 January, the Greek Presidency has instructions to exhaust every means of finding a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Iraqi problem.
As far as the countries in the region are concerned, we are working closely with Turkey, which has taken the initiative of starting a debate on the problems which the Iraqi crisis may throw up, and is working with neighbouring countries to avert the war and get Saddam Hussein to comply. This close collaboration is ongoing. Turkey is a candidate country and we are naturally worried about the possible repercussions of developments in the region, such as the Kurdish question, the question of refugees and economic and political repercussions in general. So we are also working with them. As far as multilateral diplomacy is concerned, I think, as I have said, that we have fully supported UN efforts. The European Union and the Fifteen – or even the Twenty-Eight – have stressed the importance of the role of the UN and I think this will prove to be a key factor in any further decisions we take as an international community.
As the presidency, we too have therefore tried to support every initiative which has originated in the Security Council. Numerous proposals have been tabled, by Canada, by Mexico, by Spain, Britain and America and by France and Germany. What we are trying to do, of course, because we have a large number of members in the Security Council, is everything we can to foster a joint approach to the problem.
As I said, the Iraqi crisis is throwing up new issues or is perhaps highlighting the problems of the times we live in: how to deal with countries with weapons of mass destruction, how to address the fear that weapons of mass destruction might fall into terrorist hands; I think that, here too, Europe has a vital role to play. Europe is a community of values. Europe is experienced in integrating countries that have lived through dictatorships and autocratic regimes, it has shown that it knows how to integrate countries into an area of real democracy and freedom and to contribute to peace on the continent of Europe as a whole. This invaluable experience can guide us and give us an important base from which to deal with new problems in other regions of the world. I do not see this experience as a sign of weakness, which is a criticism often levelled at Europe; I see it as a very strong point and I think we should make use of this very strong point to raise a loud, united voice at international level. The presidency will continue to work in this direction with all its partners, with the Fifteen, as well as the Twenty-Five and the Twenty-Eight and, of course, with the European Parliament.
With these few words I should like to thank you for listening; I am, of course, here to answer any questions you may have. I should just like to say that I wish I had more time for debate and could spend more time here in the House. I trust you will understand that, unfortunately, a large part of my life is spent flying from one continent to another, from one region to another, especially on account of Iraq, representing the European Union at these difficult times.
Iraq is a matter of concern to us on a number of counts. I should first like to bring you up to date on the question of Iraq itself and how things stand, although this does of course impinge on numerous other issues. Iraq is testing relations and institutions and setting all of us a tough challenge. First of all, the unity of the European Union of the Fifteen is being tested, as is the unity of the European Union of the twenty-five and the twenty-eight. Relations between the United States and the European Union, trans-Atlantic relations are being tested. Relations between the European Union and the Arab and Muslim world are being tested. The countries in the Gulf, which surely have their own specific concerns about how things are developing, are also being tested. The concept of multilateral diplomacy and, more importantly, the relevance, future and
of the UN are being tested. At the same time, new challenges are testing us, such as weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism. Our approach, how we plan to step up our fight against these new threats, is also being tested. This is where Europe has a voice. This is a Union that believes in common values and our approach to current problems is based on these common values.
I should like at this juncture to point out that the European Union, as far as its unity is concerned – and, as the presidency, we have made particular efforts in this direction – has taken two important decisions. You know what they are. I should simply like to point out that, at the summit Council on 17 February, we achieved a common stand and made an important joint declaration, in which we stress that the Union’s objective is the full disarmament of Iraq and full compliance with Security Council Resolution 1441. We considered that war was not inevitable and I should like to stress that we still feel the same. It is for Baghdad to end this crisis by complying with the demands of the Security Council. The Fifteen fully support the ongoing work of the inspectors and wish to give them the time and resources that the Security Council believes they need. However, inspections cannot continue indefinitely. Primary responsibility for dealing with Iraqi disarmament lies with the Security Council. Naturally, we – the Union – have our views, but it is at the UN that the decisions are taken. The unity and firmness of the international community, as expressed in the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1441, and the military build-up in the Gulf have been essential in obtaining the return of the inspectors.
Finally, in the wider context of the Union’s policy to secure peace, security and cooperation in the Middle East, we stressed that our top priority was to invigorate the peace process in the Middle East and promote, publicise and implement the roadmap.
I should like to point out here that recent developments in Iraq are giving us grave cause for concern. We have listened carefully to Hans Blix and I can assure you that the Greek Presidency is making an effort to attend all UN procedures and meet all sides in the Iraqi debate. We are in constant touch with Kofi Annan, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei and, of course, with most, if not all of the members of the Security Council.
We recently had the opportunity to listen to Hans Blix; according to the detailed Unmovic report, Iraq has now started to cooperate. I refer to the start made on destroying the Al-Samoud missiles and private, untaped interviews with Iraqi scientists. However, the international community is still waiting for Iraq to comply fully with its disarmament obligations, as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 1441. We therefore call again on the Iraqi regime to comply immediately with these resolutions.
As far as the challenges facing us are concerned, I should like to highlight the initiatives being taken by the Greek Presidency, in collaboration with the Council secretariat, Mr Solana, the Commission and Mr Patten, and the vital importance we attach to them. First of all, our relations with the Arab world. We have taken important initiatives here. We have visited the Arab world repeatedly over recent weeks. Mr Patten has been to various countries in the region – Iran, Jordan, Turkey. The presidency has done likewise. I personally have recently visited the region four times. I attended the council of foreign ministers of the Arab League and was invited to Sharm el-Sheik by the summit council of the Arab League to talk on behalf of the European Union. A number of my colleagues in the Council, such as the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, to mention just two, have also visited the region on the presidency’s behalf.
Our objective is to collaborate with the Arab world; first, in sending a strong message to Iraq that there is hope for a peaceful solution if they comply fully and, secondly, in order to stress that this crisis is not a political clash or a religious clash. On the contrary, it is a crisis in which we are working with the Arab and Muslim world and this is well appreciated by the Arab world. Our third objective was to galvanise the Arab world into action, which I think we have succeeded in doing. An Arab League delegation is due to visit the region with a clear message for Saddam Hussein within the next few days.
A second important area concerns relations between the United States and the European Union. I think it would be a mistake not to recognise that relations have been particularly strained recently, especially over the question of Iraq. There may previously have been other reasons, such as Kyoto, the International Criminal Court and so on, but the question of Iraq has put relations under a great deal of strain. I am sure that we all want to maintain a working relationship based on long-standing, joint efforts to achieve security and, of course, on the common values expressed by Europe and the United States; the principles of freedom, democracy and peace. What we want to highlight, therefore, is the need for a substantive dialogue on the future of security at international level and how we intend to combat these problems. We have already met both Mr Powell and Mrs Rice and other political figures on the American political scene in a bid to ensure that there is a substantive debate between the European Union and President Bush on these issues at the summit Council in June. Naturally we are in constant contact with the United States as regards our position on the Iraqi question."@en1
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