Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-15-Speech-3-058"
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"en.20040915.2.3-058"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are discussing the EU’s declaration on Iraq. The very idea of issuing such a declaration ties in with the general belief that the European Union has something resembling a foreign policy. There is no such thing as European public opinion, and there can therefore be no EU foreign policy. The Iraq issue is the best possible example of this.
Each of the Member States has its own foreign policy and its own opinion on Iraq. Within each Member State it is also possible to observe a diversity of opinion on foreign policy, but each state has its own government authorised by the voters to conduct foreign policy. The European Union has not been authorised in this way.
What, therefore, is the point of a declaration on Iraq? It is an attempt to impose upon us all the belief that this House has a mandate to conduct foreign policy. This is not true, as we do not have such a mandate. The European Union may provide humanitarian aid both in the case of Iraq and in the case of many other conflicts taking place throughout the world, and it may also offer its services as mediator and negotiator, provided that all sides in the conflict want the EU to do so. Political proposals would, however, be out of place, as we do not have the authority to conduct a common foreign policy."@en1
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