| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.6, 13.02.03, p1-2 |
| Publication Date | 13/02/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 13/02/03 By GERMANY, the current holder of the UN Security Council presidency, will attempt to paper over the cracks in the EU's policy towards Iraq during the emergency summit in Brussels on Monday (17 February). Gerhard Schröder, the chancellor, and Joschka Fischer, his foreign minister, want the Union to reaffirm its common position declared on 27 January. That was eclipsed two days later by the show of support for America, signed by leaders of Spain, the UK, Italy, Portugal and Denmark along with future EU members Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. "That joint opinion was diverted from by the letter of the eight," said a spokeswoman for Fischer last night (12 February). "We want to put it back together." The 27 January decision by foreign ministers stated that Saddam Hussein had "a final opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully" and that he must comply with Security Council Resolution 1441, which demands total cooperation with the UN weapons inspection team lead by Hans Blix. Although this represents a lowest common denominator position in some eyes, Germany sees it as the key to restoring unity. Belgium and France, the other two EU countries urging a peaceful resolution of the crisis, agree. A special advisor to Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister, conceded the summit will face a difficult choice between preserving a common EU line and ensuring peace prevails. "But one does not exclude the other," he added. Belgium had urged Greece to invite Middle East leaders to the meeting, in a bid to address the crisis in broader terms. But this idea was buried by the Greek presidency for fear of complicating the chances of reaching a common position. The leaders of candidate countries have not been invited either. "It will already be difficult to get to an agreement at 15, it could be even more so at 28," a Belgian diplomat commented. Germany's Schröder, the EU leader most critical of Washington's sabre-rattling, endeavoured to present a united front yesterday, when he met Spain's José María Aznar in Lanzarote. But the Spanish premier continued to back America, describing the EU-US link as "fundamental". Madrid is one of four EU capitals now represented on the Security Council, along with Berlin, London and Paris. France and the UK, as permanent members with the US, Russia and China, have a right of veto. Greece's EU presidency says there are indications Blix will give a more positive assessment of Iraq's level of cooperation with his team than previously, when he presents a progress report in New York tomorrow (14 February). If the signals, based partly on Baghdad's assent to reconnaissance by U-2 spy planes prove accurate, Athens wants other EU capitals to confirm they wish to have the impasse broken without recourse to war. "The principle of our presidency is that we need to make sure we exhaust all diplomatic initiatives," said a source close to Foreign Minister George Papandreou. "We will not be admitting defeat [in averting war] before it becomes a fait accompli." Speaking in Athens, Papandreou said: "The aim of GERMANY, the current holder of the UN Security Council presidency, will attempt to paper over the cracks in the EU's policy towards Iraq during the emergency summit in Brussels on Monday (17 February). Germany, the current holder of the UN Security Council presidency, will attempt to paper over the cracks in the EU's policy towards Iraq during an emergency summit in Brussels on 17 February 2003. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Middle East |
