Pöttering: EU and Germany need single voice on Iraq

Date: 26/09/02

By David Cronin

VICTORIOUS German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has damaged the EU's relations with the US through criticism of George W. Bush's stance on Iraq, the leader of the European Parliament's biggest political group has claimed.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, head of the centre-right European People's Party and himself a German, argued it would be wrong for the red-green coalition, which won last weekend's election, to devise a foreign policy separate to the EU's.

Schröder's robust attacks on US plans for a pre-emptive strike against Saddam Hussein's regime have been blamed in America for 'poisoning' relations between Washington and Berlin.

But Pöttering said this is 'no longer just an issue in German and American relations; it affects European and American relations'.

Regardless of whether military action against Iraq could be justified, Pöttering argued, 'it is important for Europe to speak with a single voice' on this key foreign policy issue.

He expressed particular concern over differences in approach between Germany and France, where President Jacques Chirac has been more supportive towards US sabre rattling.

'The EU has always gained when Germany and France have taken a joint position,' he said. 'France and Germany shouldn't dominate Europe but, if the two countries are out of step, the overall consequences for Europe are damaging.'

Yet Pöttering stopped short of giving unqualified support for Bush's threat of launching an assault on Iraq. The EPP, he said, was in favour of having decisions on this issue taken within the United Nations.

The US, though, has made clear it could bomb Baghdad, even if others on the UN Security Council refuse to rally round.

The Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens secured a combined total of 306 seats in the Bundestag in last weekend's poll - just 11 more than the conservative alliance of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats.

Schröder's imminent reappointment as chancellor and the recent win by the centre-left Swedish premier Goran Persson were applauded by Robin Cook, head of the Party of European Socialists.

The ex-British foreign secretary said: 'The SPD's victory is important not just for Germany but for social democracy in Europe as a whole. Victories within a week of each in Sweden and Germany have confirmed that social democracy will retain its impact on EU policy development.'

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the European Parliament's Green group, was delighted by the strong showing for the German ecologists. Led by his friend Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the Greens won 8.6 of the national vote, 1.9 above the total they received in the 1998 election.

Cohn-Bendit said the election proved that the will of socialist and green politicians to reform Germany enjoyed large-scale backing. He added: 'They [the Greens] had a coherence between their policy programme and the people that represented them.'

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has damaged the EU's relations with the US through criticism of George W. Bush's stance on Iraq, the leader of the European Parliament's biggest political group has claimed.