PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

The fact that the United States had so strongly engaged with the United Nations on the problem of Iraq would significantly affect the outlook of European partners on the issue, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon. 

Denmark currently holds the Presidency of the European Union and Mr. Rasmussen had, in the morning, delivered the statement of the Union to the General Assembly.  At the afternoon conference, he was introduced by Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Public Information.

The multilateralism of United States President George Bush's speech, said Mr. Rasmussen, echoed the introductory words of Secretary-General Kofi Annan.  It was exactly what the European Union had wished for. 

President Bush's speech, he continued, was very forceful in addressing the grave problem posed by Iraq's continued refusal to abide by the long series of mandatory Security Council resolutions and its threat to the authority of the United Nations.  But, it was of greater importance that the President had pledged to work with the Security Council on the issue. 

The Union agreed with the Secretary-General that if Iraq's defiance continued, the Security Council must face its responsibilities and act, he said.  Of course, the way ahead concerning Iraq varied widely among members of the European Union, but the context in which they considered the Iraq problem was now different, he said.

A correspondent asked how it was possible for the European Union to achieve consensus on the issue, given such a great divergence of views, for example between that of Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and Gerhard Schroeder of Germany.  Mr. Rasmussen replied that it was always a challenge for the European Presidency to distil a common position from 15 sovereign member states.  But, that was the task, which had to be accomplished through intensive consultation.  His statement to the Assembly had presented the common position, and it fit in comfortably with Denmark's and his own.

Another correspondent asked if the gap between the United States and the European Union had narrowed because of the morning's statements.  Mr. Rasmussen said he did not see a gap between those allies.  There were disputes -- over steel tariffs and the International Criminal Court, for example -- but the links forged by common values remained strong.

Pressed repeatedly to describe how the European Union would react if Iraq continued to defy Security Council resolutions, Mr. Rasmussen said such speculation was premature.  It was also, he said, premature to comment on new resolutions that the Union would support.  The most important outcome of the day, he stressed, was that the United States and the international community had committed themselves to following the United Nations track on the issue.  Any reaction should be based on new United Nations resolutions.

In response to other questions, Mr. Rasmussen also refused to comment on specific links between Iraq and terror networks, or between either of those problems and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  Each situation, he said, must be addressed individually.

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians should be addressed through the “Quartet”, he said.  In its role as Union President, Denmark had tabled a road map for implementing reforms that could lead to a settlement on that issue.

Terrorism, he said, was an international phenomenon and the response must be as international as possible.  The European Union was helping to establish strong cooperation for that purpose.

Regarding links between narcotics traffic and terrorism, he said he had conveyed strong appreciation to the new Government of Colombia for its efforts in combating the problem, along with its moves toward greater democracy and reform.  He had also agreed to establish a dialogue towards moving ahead with assistance in those areas.

Finally, he said he could not fully explain the factors preventing dialogue between India and Pakistan.  The European Union had been encouraging those parties to establish direct talks.  He did know, however, that confidence-building on both sides was crucial.  In addition, terrorism in Kashmir was a major problem, and the Union had appealed to the Pakistani President to increase efforts to end it.

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