DIFFERENT VOICES

Date: 10/04/1997

“I am standing because I believe it is my duty in the current situation.” German Chancellor Helmut Kohl announcing his decision to seek

re-election next year to oversee the introduction of the planned European single currency and the expansion of NATO.

“I have a hard time imagining any head of state returning to his country and saying 'I was beaten, we are not in the single currency' ... Politically, you can imagine the drama that would create.”

Economics Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy warning that the fate of those left outside the first wave of euro-countries would have to be made clear so that they could emerge with their honour intact.

“'Restructuring' a company can mean 'destructuring' the community ... Companies, even if they exist to make profits, nevertheless should retain a strong degree of social responsibility. The Renault case shows that we still have some way to go to strike the right balance between corporate needs and those of workers and society as a whole.”

Social Affairs Commissioner Pádraig Flynn launching a fresh attack on Renault over the decision to close its Vilvoorde plant in Belgium.

“There is an absolute frontier between the large and small members. It should not be us, the smaller, who pay for enlargement.”

Swedish Foreign Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen explaining why smaller member states were refusing to give up their right to nominate a representative to the European Commission as a way of preventing the college from becoming too large and unwieldy in a bloc of up to 27 nations.

“I take everything that Turkey does and says very seriously, but on this particular point I see that no one takes them seriously.”

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos dismissing Ankara's threat to veto NATO expansion if Turkey is not granted EU membership.

“There is a real disagreement. It is as simple as that.”

Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen insisting his government would table a resolution on China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission this week after France blocked moves to table an EU resolution.