Speeches

Iraq - European Agreement Welcomed - last chance for Iraq


Speaking to a special meeting of the political leaders of the European Parliament with the Presidency of the EU, Mr. Hans-Gert Poettering, Chairman of the EPP-ED Group, welcomed the agreement of the European Council on Iraq and called for a strong common European position and partnership with the USA. He confirmed his belief that Iraq has one last chance to comply fully with the UN resolutions. In the debate he said:

"I would like to make three brief comments, and I would like to point out where we think we need to draw lessons from what happened. As Presidency of the EU, you were not in an enviable position, because you ended up in a very difficult situation with lack of unity in the European Union and in fact Europe seemed to be a pile of wreckage. I don't want to go through the chronology of the different events that have occurred, because that might reopen wounds. I think for the future, it has to be clear to all of us that we as Europeans have to seek to achieve common positions. We can not have unilateral positions, bilateral or multilateral positions on behalf of certain Member States ignoring the EU Community process. We have to work together and this duty of solidarity is a duty on all Member States. If one breaches this principle that leads to an immediate reaction from other Member States. We have to demand that the Community mechanisms are used to arrive at a common position.

"A second lesson that we have to draw, and this is leaving aside the Iraq issue, is our approach to the United States. European integration should not be defined as something in conflict with our relationship with the US. What we want is equal partnership with the United States. If we define our relationship in such a way that European integration is seen as something running counter to our relations with the United States, then we would actually be jeopardising the future of the European Union. It would be forcing the candidate countries to decide always with the US, because of their historical experiences. They always feel that they can get more support from the American side in an emergency.

"My third comment, you quite rightly mentioned the huge public demonstrations that took place. In a democracy, and this is something that we should be proud of in Europe and in the world, demonstrations are something which are part of the expression of free democracy. We should also be careful that we don't confuse cause and effect. The problem is not at the door of the United States. The problem is the criminal regime of Saddam Hussein. This is the decisive point. This is something we shouldn't forget on this day of joy. The resolution of the European Council is expressed in a very balanced fashion, and I congratulate you again on this balanced text. But if today, 1.000 tons of chemical weapons, including, for example, anthrax and nerve gas, have disappeared and the criminal regime in Iraq cannot produce verifiable evidence about the whereabouts of these chemical weapons, then over the next weeks and days we have to pay great attention to this. I can only agree when you say, this is the last chance for Saddam Hussein. He has to co-operate and he has to be disarmed. I can only hope that this disarmament occurs in a peaceful fashion and in the context of UN decisions.

"A final comment, I think it is very effective in this declaration that there is a specific reference to peace in the Middle East and the conflict in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We have to send a signal to the Arab world that Europe wants to make its contribution and wants to ensure a situation where Israelis can live within secure borders and Palestinians can live within secure borders. We are not anti-Arab. We want a fair and just peace in the Middle East. In this spirit our Party would like to congratulate you once again. We hope that you will carry on achieving success in bringing about peace on one hand but also helping to stop dangers while bringing about and solidifying the unity of the European nations."


(Summary translation from the original German)