PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

At a Headquarters press conference today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium and President of the Council of the European Union, Louis Michel, said that the Union had made extraordinary progress towards becoming a major partner in the international arena.  Now it must strengthen European policy towards joint security and defence, in order to implement its external policy.

Joining him were the Commissioner for External Relations of the European Council, Christopher Patten, and Javier Solana, the Council's High Representative and Secretary-General.

Mr. Michel, who spoke in French, said that the fact that the General Assembly had been convened was a "healthy" reaction of the international community, which should not be totally preoccupied with the fight against terrorism.  Obviously, however, that fight had been an important element in all discussions and statements.  He had heard a number of very committed and positive statements expressing a determination to have a true dialogue of civilizations, in order to converge towards a common ground of values based directly on human rights, democracy and humanism. 

The European Union had been holding extensive bilateral contracts with a whole series of countries and interlocutors, including from the Russian Federation, Africa and Canada, he said.  It had been engaging in important bilateral work, as, in the present context, the Union had a special value to offer the international community, namely, that it had never closed any door to any political dialogue with anyone.  That, itself, was very important, and from that standpoint, the Union could maintain dialogue and usher countries back into the international community.  It could also serve to reassure certain major communities and countries that had sometimes felt misunderstood. 

Thus, he went on, the Union had been increasing its contacts with the Muslim world, the Arab world, as well, he said.  In its position outlined today, the Union had expressed its full solidarity with the United States in its fight against terrorism.  It had also strongly stressed the need for substantial humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as winter approached.  In the delivery of such aid, the Union could play a role and had requested to provide coordination in that regard, under the aegis of the United Nations.  It had also taken a number of non-military measures of its own to combat terrorism by preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism.  It had also reaffirmed the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy.

He said the Union had engaged in advocacy, in line with the policy of the United Nations, for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.  There was an increasing need for a universal permanent jurisdiction to effectively combat, through deterrence and punishment, those who were guilty of committing crimes against humanity.  The Union had also reaffirmed the need for promotion and advancement of children's rights, and strongly stressed the importance of women's full realization of their human rights.  In Afghanistan, for example, special attention should be paid in the post-Taliban era in that regard, and the Union must be vigilant in ensuring respect for women's rights in

any future coalition following that regime.  It had also strongly stressed the need to continue fighting racism.  

The Union had played a very active role, through Mr. Solana and Mr. Patten, by "giving a face" to Europe's foreign policy -– a very credible and significant one, he said.  In a few months, the Union would be a major global participant in a number of conflicts.  It was already involved in the Balkans, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and increasingly in the Middle East and other areas.  Today, the Union had also reaffirmed the urgency for initiatives to be taken, with the full support of the United States, in the Middle East crisis.  It would be unfair to make a link between the Middle East and terrorism, with respect to what happened in September.  That situation was not the cause of terrorism, but there were expectations that initiatives should be tackled enabling resolution of the Middle East crisis.

Terrorism must be fought, he said, but as long as the Middle East crisis remained unresolved, terrorism would be fuelled by it.  It seemed important to argue that initiatives be taken urgently to bring the parties towards a political dialogue and resolution of that crisis.  On behalf of the Union, he recalled that Palestinians had the right to live in a viable, independent State and that, at the same time, the Israelis had the right to live within secure and internationally recognized boundaries. 

Mr. Solana said that the delayed convening of the Assembly, as well as the fact that it had taken place at all, had had profound significance.  The present time was a moment of difficulty but also of hope.  For the Union, there were three subjects that formed the basis of its position this week:  the fight against terrorism; the crisis in Afghanistan, with its military, humanitarian and post-Taliban components; and the Middle East, which was experiencing a worsening climate.  It was reassuring that everyone was moving towards a similar position with respect to that region, and, as soon as possible, he would like to see important progress there.

Mr. Patten said he wished to underpin what the two previous speakers had said about the Union's role in dealing with the consequences of the present crisis.  It was providing some €300 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan:  approximately one third from the European Commission and the other two thirds from European Union Member States.  The Union representatives had recently visited Pakistan, where it would be submitting €100 million in development and with whom it would soon sign a trade and cooperation agreement.  It had also submitted proposals for enabling greater access of Pakistani textiles and garments to European markets.  It was also in early talks with Iran for a contractual trade and cooperation agreement. 

In the Middle East, the Union's support had been pivotal in enabling the Palestinian Authority to survive, despite the non-payment of tax revenues to it by the Israeli authorities and despite the blockade, he said.  During 2001, the Union would have provided to the Palestinian territory approximately €250 million in assistance.  In the margins of the ministerial week here and in the weeks and months to come, the Union would be discussing ways it could play a major role in assisting the redevelopment of Afghanistan after the fighting had ended. 

On the Middle East, a correspondent asked if the Union would have to urge the actors back into play, for instance, to persuade Mr. Bush to meet Mr. Arafat.

No, Mr. Michel replied.  He was not going to tell Mr. Bush to receive Mr. Arafat.  It was not Mr. Bush with whom he normally spoke, anyway; it was the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, with whom he had discussed many issues, including a settlement.  The moment was coming near when specific pressure would have to be exerted on the parties to push them towards a political solution.  Present circumstances, however, had made it urgent for those to get together.  He could not be more specific because the element of diplomacy was at stake.

Concerning Afghanistan, did the Union believe that there was a proper balance between the military campaign and meeting the humanitarian needs? another correspondent asked.  Also, concerning a request made by French President Jacques Chirac for the United Nations to organize a conference on humanitarian aid, did the Union have a concept of what such a conference could achieve and had there been any concrete movement towards convening one? he asked.

Mr. Michel said that it was a very rare occurrence historically for there to be a deployment that was both strategic and specific coupled with so much humanitarian aid.  There had been a real humanitarian strategy, unprecedented in an armed conflict.  The discussion was not about a lack of balance.  The real danger today would be to get bogged down in the convenience of saying that the United States strikes were of no use; those were of use.  After all, the Taliban was still in power and, while that regime was still in place, it was useless not to strike against terrorism. 

What had happened in New York and Washington, D.C., was unspeakable, and justice must be done, he added.  The conditions under which the coalition had evolved had to be understood in that context.

Mr. Patten added that he had heard the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs say, in an interview broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) earlier in the week, that the military strikes had not impeded or inhibited the provision of humanitarian aid.  What had been impeding had been the activities of the Taliban.  Similarly, a recent interview with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had said that their supplies had been “looted, their vehicles had been stolen”, and their workers being beaten up.  The Taliban had been the problem in any interruption of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

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