| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 19.2.03 |
| Publication Date | 19/02/2003 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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EU leaders managed to agree a common position on Iraq at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 17 February 2002 following a proposal put forward by the French, UK and Belgian governments. The common position states that the EU's objective remains 'full and effective disarmament' but adds that 'force should only be used as a last resort'. The meeting had been called by the Greek Presidency in an effort to iron out deep rooted differences between the Member States over whether Iraq should be disarmed by force and in order to present a more united front in keeping with ideas of a Common Foreign and Security Policy. France and Germany have expressed their strong opposition to war, issuing a joint statement on 22 January 2003 declaring that they would intensify their co-operation against a US-led war against Iraq. The Franco-German approach has been supported by a number of other EU Member States who all favour a new UN security Council Resolution before any attack is launched. Meanwhile the United Kingdom and Spain - the traditional Atlanticists - have voiced their support for an American led strike against Iraq and the Netherlands, Italy and Denmark all appear to support the US-line. The compromise reached at the emergency summit is widely seen as a 'lowest common denominator' synthesis of European opinion and deep differences remain over the timing of any war, and over how much longer Iraq should be given to comply with the UN inspectors requests. However, the Greek Presidency was keen to emphasise the positive aspects of the summit, with Greek foreign minister George Papandreou saying:
Yet Mr. Papandreou's comments about a 'united Europe' seemed a little optimistic in the light of events which followed the summit. The French President, Jacques Chriac, launched a critical tirade on the candidate countries for daring to show support for the United States in a joint statement issued by the Vilnius group of countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) on 5 February 2003 in which they said they were 'prepared to contribute to an international coalition to enforce its provisions and the disarmament of Iraq'. At the post-summit press conference Mr. Chirac called the behaviour childish and dangerous and said 'they missed a good opportunity to keep quiet'. The French President even implied that the accession of the candidate countries could have been threatened by their actions since all the current EU Member States have yet to ratify the enlargement. The candidate countries, which met on Tuesday 18 February to discuss the Iraq issue after France's call a week earlier for them to be excluded from the emergency European Council, reacted cautiously to Mr. Chriac's comments. Obviously aware that their membership of the European Union is not totally guaranteed, the leaders of the candidate countries tried not to rise to Mr. Chirac's bait, voicing their right to make their own foreign policy decisions but refusing to condemn Mr. Chirac's remarks outright. Meanwhile, the 13 EU candidate countries endorsed the EU's common position on Iraq after being briefed by the President of the Council, Prime Minister Costas Simitis, European Commission President Romano Prodi and the EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana. The candidate countries received support from Tony Blair, the UK Prime Minister, who sent a letter to the prime ministers of the 13 countries praising their show of solidarity with the US and saying,
Mr. Blair's move is likely to fuel the simmering dispute between France and Britain that began with a row over EU farming subsidies at the Brussels European Council in October 2002 and it is likely to reopen the divide between the Atlanticist 'new Europe' and the 'old Europe' of France and Germany. The Iraq issue is causing tension in all corners of Europe. The future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has been questioned by many after it reached an impasse over whether it should provide military assistance to Turkey in the event of the United States launching an attack on Iraq. Germany, France and Belgium originally opposed the plan and the deadlock was only broken on 16 February 2002 after the decision was taken by the organisation's defence planning committee of which France is not a member and Germany and Belgium dropped their opposition on the basis that assistance to Turkey would be purely defensive rather than the first step in a war against Iraq. In the latest move, the Turkish President, Ahmet Sezer, has said that his country will allow US soldiers to be deployed on its territory only if the United Nations passes a second resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq. With Hans Blix, the UN chief weapons inspector, due to present a further report on the state of Iraqi disarmament on 28 February 2002 the respite in tensions over Iraq that have divided Europe could be short lived. The next key question is likely to be how long Iraq should be given before it is deemed to have failed to comply with UN Security Resolution 1441 and once again differences arise. The United States is reported to be drafting a second resolution, which might include a deadline of, say, two weeks. If the demands were not met, then the US and UK could use the failure as a reason to implement the 'serious consequences' threatened by the resolution 1441. However it is not yet known when the US would present such a draft to the UN Security Council. Troops will not be fully in position for a further four to six weeks but after March the regional temperatures increase and fighting becomes more uncomfortable, though not impossible. Yet with all these issues yet to be resolved, it is certain that the EU's ability to speak with a united voice on foreign policy will be tested once again. Helen Bower Compiled: Wednesday, 19 February 2003 Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Countries / Regions | Middle East |
