EU foreign ministers to express regret over cartoons

By David Cronin

Date: 23/02/06

Foreign ministers are set to express regret next week for the offence caused by the publication in several European newspapers of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

After more than six hours of negotiations, EU diplomats agreed on Wednesday (22 February) on a common line to be adopted at the foreign ministers' meeting on Monday (27 February).

The draft of the Council's conclusions, which will be the first comprehensive EU position on the cartoons furore, will express regret and understanding for the offence caused by the cartoons, despite the Netherlands insisting that there was nothing for the EU to regret.

In a move to appease the Dutch delegation, the conclusions also contain strong language defending freedom of expression, while recognising it must be exercised with responsibility. The conclusions will also condemn the attacks in the Middle East on embassies of Northern European countries. Denmark insisted that they should also contain references to the boycott of Danish products applied in several Muslim countries.

During a meeting of diplomats from the EU and South Mediterranean countries (EuroMed), the Egyptian representative, speaking on behalf of Arab countries, criticised the EU countries for failing to fulfil their obligations under international law to stamp out on Islamophobia.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül will address the cartoon furore when he meets his EU counterparts next month.

Gül has asked to open a discussion at the meeting of the Union's foreign ministers in Salzburg (10-11 March) and his request has been accepted by Austria's presidency of the EU.

A spokesman for the government in Vienna played down recent media reports that Turkey was to be given a formal role in mediating between Islamic countries and the EU. But he said that Gül would almost certainly present some ideas about how the Alliance of Civilisations project can be advanced.

Launched by Spain and Turkey in November, the project is designed to promote understanding between largely Muslim countries and the West.

A Turkish diplomat said that no proposals for Turkey to act as a mediator had been put forward by the EU either formally or informally. But the diplomat said that Turkey had already decided to try to soothe tensions in the cartoon affair. For example, it was instrumental in securing a declaration by the 57-country Organisation of Islamic Conferences, urging Muslims not to register their anger at the cartoons through violence.

Demir Murat Seyrek, the Brussels representative of the Turkish think-tank, the ARI Movement, said that Ankara should use its "advantage" as both a candidate for EU membership and a largely Muslim country to "be in touch with everybody".

One disadvantage, he said, was that Turkey was "not very experienced" in some of the finer points of diplomacy. This was illustrated, he added, by how Ankara sparked a hostile reaction from Israel to recent contacts it had with Hamas.

Preview of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, 27-28 February 2006, where EU Foreign Ministers were expected to express regret for the offence caused by the publication in several European newspapers of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. This was the outcome of more than six hours of negotiations of EU diplomats on 22 February 2006 on a common line to be adopted.