Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-26-Speech-3-088"
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"en.20030326.5.3-088"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I should like to bow my head and turn my thoughts to the civil and military victims on all sides, and say that I deeply regret all the suffering caused in the opening days of the war. Let us hope that it will come to a speedy end. Generally speaking, this conflict brings three thoughts to my mind.
Firstly, how can we learn from our differences, so that the European Union can find itself again at last, and can speak with a united voice in international affairs? The European Union was built up over time and through various trials. More often than not, great advances have followed serious crises. The trial that Europe is currently passing through is not the first and it will certainly not be the last. and we must therefore be optimistic. The most important thing is to examine and to understand, after the war, the reasons for our present differences. Are they fundamental reasons? Are our positions irreversible and irreconcilable? If they are, that will cause serious difficulties in the future. Is it not more likely that they are merely the result of a lack of consultation and coordination? It seems to me that it is now a matter of urgency that Europe, without harming its transatlantic partnership, should provide itself with the means of being independent and powerful, and should provide itself with a real common foreign and defence policy. Independence does not mean breaking alliances.
My second thought is about the future of Iraq. This time, the United Nations must fully play its part in the reconstruction of Iraq, so that the country can provide itself with a representative government which is willing to live in peace with its neighbours and is capable of playing an active part within the international community. Reconstruction must be carried out, first and foremost, for the benefit of the Iraqi people who have suffered so much for so many years. The Iraqis must at last be able to benefit from their country’s wealth, which is enormous.
Thirdly, I wonder whether we have the capacity to give an appropriate welcome to the candidate countries next year. Are we ready? That is what we should be asking ourselves. In order to welcome the candidate countries in the best possible circumstances, it seems that three conditions will need to be met. Firstly, we need to be reconciled on the subject of our values. Why should those not be the values of the old Europe? Secondly, our institutions, which find it difficult enough to operate when there are only fifteen Member States, need to be changed, and that means that the Convention must complete its work in the best possible conditions. Thirdly, we have to be able to cope financially. I have set out the problem, but it is not my job to provide the solution to it. My most cherished hope is that, after this war and after we have passed through this crisis, the Union, whether it has fifteen or twenty-five Member States, will be independent and finally able to speak with a single voice."@en1
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