PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union should no longer be seen as merely a group of countries with a large financial capacity, but as a protagonist in the areas of foreign policy, diplomacy, defence policy and particularly all aspects of international peacekeeping operations, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

Hubert Védrine, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that last week's historical Millennium Summit had been characterized by a strong European participation. That, in itself, should make clear that through its various humanitarian and development programmes, the European Union was now more actively engaged that ever before in areas such as human rights, development and the environment. Moreover, in light of the “novel” development of enhancing its own defence capability, the European Union should also be seen as an emerging partner in global peacekeeping operations.

Regarding the European Union's recent activities, Mr. Védrine said that along with traditional breakfasts, there had been meetings with United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, the Rio Group, and the Arab Gulf States Cooperation Council, among others.

He said that it was also important to note that after consultation among all the States of the European Union, its members were in agreement about lifting the sanctions against the Austrian Government, while at the same time agreeing to maintain vigilant given the nature and potential influence of Jörg Haider's Freedom Party.

A reporter wondered if the action the European Union had taken against Austria could serve as a precedent for similar action in other countries. Mr. Védrine said that the report of the Union's "three Wise Men" had stated that the measures that had been implemented were justified and had proved useful. The members of the Union had demonstrated their political capacity to react. The ramifications of that decision went beyond the specific case of Austrian politics, he continued, and could stand as a symbol for others.

Mr. Védrine said that, earlier today, the Union had held a first-ever ministerial meeting with the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. One of the main topics at that meeting had been increasing European Union cooperation with the United Nations over peacekeeping.

A correspondent asked Mr. Védrine to further explain how the European Union would become more involved in United Nations peacekeeping operations. For example, if one or several European countries participated in the start-up mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, would it be a European mission, or a United Nations operation with European components?

In the past, Mr. Védrine said, Union member States had not been able to agree on an overall defence policy, but consensus had now been reached. The Union would now start building a force that would comprise 60,000 troops

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by 2003. While this was a process that would evolve over the next few years, he said, "the message is that it's time to get used to the European Union having a role to play". He added, however, that increased involvement in peacekeeping operations would not lead to a reduction in the European Union's other commitments to the international community.

Accompanying Mr. Védrine at the briefing were Charles Josselin, France’s Minister-Delegate for Overseas Cooperation and the Francophonie, Javier Solana, High Representative for Common, Foreign and Security Policy for the European Union, and Chris Patton, Commissioner for External Relations for the European Commission.

On the issue of peacekeeping, Mr. Solana said that enhancing the Union's involvement would indeed take time. It would require all the member States acting, and making decisions, together. And while not all those States would be involved in specific peacekeeping operations, perhaps by 2003 they would be able to act jointly under the European Union banner.

Mr. Védrine said that many of the Union’s recent meetings had concerned topical issues of the day, such as the peace process in the Middle East and the sensitive situation in the Balkans in light of the forthcoming elections in Yugoslavia. During this round of meetings the European Union had also adopted a declaration in favour of the creation of a Palestinian State, as well as expressed its support for the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise the ceiling on oil production to ease the market.

On the Middle East peace process, Mr. Solana said that the European Union's position was well known. However, the Union supported United States President Bill Clinton's efforts to take advantage of this critical moment, to develop an agreement that would draw on the considerable progress that had been made at Camp David in July. "There is no idiotic competition", he said. "We are all pushing for the same objective." The European Union had been in contact with the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as other parties promoting peace in the region, to assist in developing creative solutions to some "very thorny" issues. "Our political message has been 'please keep making efforts'", he explained.

A correspondent asked if the European Union shared the United States’ view that Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestine Authority, was basically to blame for stalling the Middle East peace process. What role would the European Union play? "What we are interested in is playing a useful role that will contribute to achieving peace", Mr. Védrine said. "We're not trying to place blame on anybody's doorstep." What really counted was finding a solution. The European Union had urged both parties to "be bold and creative" in their negotiations.

Another correspondent asked for a readout on the meeting with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Mr. Josselin, who chaired that particular meeting, said that while the Union had stressed the impact of rising oil prices on Europe, he had also made a particular point of stressing the impact on developing countries. In turn, the Gulf leaders had expressed regret that they

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had been seen as the sole culprits in this issue, pointing out that there were other oil-producing countries involved, and that speculation practices as well as the role of oil companies should be borne in mind. Mr. Josselin also reported that the leaders had said they thought a more desirable price for oil would be somewhere between $21 and $25 per barrel.

A correspondent asked if European Union member States had the political will to strengthen policies on immigration issue. Mr. Védrine said that the 15 members were indeed working towards coordinating all aspects of the Union's migration policies. Recent meetings had addressed everything from border control to assistance for changing the status of persons living illegally within certain countries. Mr. Patton added that following the tragic deaths of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants trying to enter the United Kingdom, there had been several helpful exchanges within the international community on illegal trafficking.

Another correspondent said that it seemed that France would like to see a genuine change regarding the sanctions that had been imposed on Iraq and asked if France was isolated within the Union in wanting to see the sanctions lifted.

Mr. Védrine said that while there had been no recent changes in the positions of the European Union, Iraq or the United States, France continued to believe that the embargo should be lifted. Action on this should be taken within the framework of Security Council resolution 1284, in order to ensure the security of countries neighbouring Iraq. France believed that the sanctions had become primitive, outdated and economically absurd. However that was not a view shared by all the countries within the European Union, and it appeared that Iraq was still not prepared to accept the provisions of resolution 1284.

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