Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-12-Speech-3-053"
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"en.20030312.1.3-053"2
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"Mr President, the news arriving this morning from New York that they are thinking of extending the ultimatum makes us continue to hope that the Iraqi crisis may be resolved without taking up arms. The willingness of the United States and the United Kingdom to extend the ultimatum to Saddam Hussein opens up a new glimmer of hope for peace.
These are still the days of politics and diplomacy, and every attempt must be made to avert war: a goal that it is not impossible to achieve. Above all – and here I agree with Mr Poettering – it is up to Saddam Hussein to destroy the banned weapons without hesitation and without pretence; it is up to Saddam Hussein to collaborate with the UN inspectors without wasting time; and the Iraqi dictator still has the option of leaving his country, to release it from an illiberal regime and restore it to democracy: a choice invoked by many of the Members sitting in this House too.
Europe must also make its loud voice heard, however, by avoiding divisions and conflict. The document adopted on 17 February must be the starting point for action by the Council and the Commission, and it is the primary duty of all the political groups represented in Parliament to act to prevent the credibility of the United Nations being eroded away. European politics and diplomacy must move to prevent that institution, with which we all identify, from emerging from the international crisis deprived of its role as the protector of the international rule of law, and we must also act to prevent another multilateral body, the Atlantic Alliance, from losing its credibility.
We therefore have the duty, Mr President, of working to preserve the unity of Europe; there must be a huge effort from everybody to overcome the divisions that have been revealed this week: a weak and divided Europe does not serve the cause of peace. We must learn from these difficulties so that Europe can, once again, play a leading role on the international stage.
We must not, however, Mr President, forget the relationship and shared values that link us to the United States of America – a country deeply scarred by the attacks of 11 September, attacks that also scarred every one of us, every European – and we must not allow Washington to be left alone. This is because every act of international diplomacy these days can only be aimed at building a solution to the Iraqi crisis. The European Union and the United States must find joint initiatives within the framework of the international order."@en1
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