Aznar: dismisses counter-US defence group

Tuesday April 15, 2003 20:52

by Franco

new Europe ?

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR - Spanish prime minister: "Trying to create a military counter-power is a mistake. José Maria Aznar, the Spanish Prime Minister has spoken out against moves by France, Russia and Germany – three countries about to consider forming a ‘defence pole’, following the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Mr Aznar said in an interview with Le Monde that Europe should not build a rival defence pole to counteract the US. He said that no one is interested in having such architecture of defence and that such a plan would not be in the interest of Europe, adding that when Americans and Europeans work together, the world is a secure place.

European unity is not destroyed
Aznar, a political ally of the Americans and British in the war against Iraq, also said that European unity is not destroyed. The Europeans just have different points of view, but if they want to bring them together, that should not be in rivalry with the US. He tried to underline that there is no alternative to the US capacity of defence.

Aznar thinks that Europe simply does not have the military capacities needed. He reminded Le Monde how the Europeans were unable in 1999 to resolve the Kosovo crisis by themselves. He also said that the US remains the biggest economic power in the world and it does not really matter if the Europeans are an American satellite, or not. The Prime Minister stressed that the US took care of European stability and defence after World War II and that they still have the responsibility of the world’s security.

"Trying to create a military counter-power is a mistake", Aznar concluded.

Europe’s future shape
The Spanish Prime Minister thinks that Spain will play an important role in the next decades in the EU and the world. Spain’s big influence in Europe and the Mediterranean is not contradictory with its transatlantic links.

Developing closer transatlantic cooperation is part of the Convention work as well, Aznar pointed out. And the future defence of Europe will shape differently after the arrival of the new member states that will have a word to say regarding defence policy. "The future of Europe will neither be old, or new, but different", he explained adding that the French-German engine is fundamental, but it is not the only one.

Finally, the Europeans have the responsibility of turning the EU into the biggest economic area and they now have the guidelines from the Lisbon Summit to do it. "Unfortunately, Aznar said, we are not applying the formula correctly".

Press Articles Le Monde

Written by Mihaela Gherghisan
Edited by Lisbeth Kirk

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Comments (4 of 4)

worth every cent of the .40

by .

Mon May 19, 2003 18:26

our net.

No to Charity Appeals

by Dick Dowling

Tue Apr 15, 2003 22:01

I was glad to see the head of the Spanish Red Cross complaining about the poor response of people in Spain to an appeal for donations for Iraqi relief.
The fact is those whose who do the damage should pay to fix it, in so far as it can be fixed.

And that's why I also object to the Dublin government so casually promising Irish taxpayers' money for the same purpose.

Washington: France will now pay for Iraq position

by big bad wolf

Tue Apr 15, 2003 20:57

Another tension in the US-EU relationships brought by Paul Wolfowitz's remarks on France (Photo: EUobserver.com)
Le Figaro reports that the US vice-secretary of state for defence, Paul Wolfowitz, explained last week to the American Senate that France will have to pay for its stance against the war in Iraq.

Mr Wolfowitz remembered France’s opposition within NATO to protect Turkey: "French behaviour has been very harmful for NATO". He said that the military cooperation with France is good, but that French politicians are troublemakers.

Yet France was not the only EU government which opposed plans for protection to be given to Turkey. Germany and Belgium also thought that such a step taken by NATO would imply a signal of support for the war that they were both against. France was however, central to the opposition that was finally lifted before the war in a Defence Planning Committee meeting, without French participation.

Political vengeance
The US concluded that it cannot exclude France from the long-term reconstruction of Iraq and cannot really boycott French companies on American soil as they employ thousands of Americans, Le Figaro claims. The vengeance will then have to be political and the US promises to give hard times to France in NATO.

Americans will count on the member states that share the same thinking in the Alliance but will probably deepen European disagreement on the matter. Le Figaro speculates on the attempt of the US to be even closer to the British and to the newly-joined member states, all eastern Europeans.

The secretary of state for defence Donald Rumsfeld played the eastern European card as well when he opposed the exhausted "old Europe" countries, including France and Germany, to the new democracies from the East that supported the war.

France not only disapproved of that approach but French President Jacques Chirac rebuked the Eastern countries, also future EU member states, for backing Washington in the war, accusing them of irresponsible behaviour.

Press Articles Le Figaro Written by Mihaela Gherghisan
Edited by Lisbeth Kirk

Kissinger to repair transatlantic rift

by uncle henry

Tue Apr 15, 2003 20:55

The task force will bring together leaders from business, former senior government officials and policy experts to issue a report that will address the rift.
Facing the greatest transatlantic rift in 50 years, US former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence H. Summers have been appointed by the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, (CFR) to co-chair a task force on a new American policy toward Europe.

"I can't imagine two more able people than Henry Kissinger and Larry Summers to take on this challenge", said Council President Leslie H. Gelb in a press release.

The task force will bring together leaders from business, former senior government officials and policy experts to issue a report that will address the rift. The group will also include a number of European experts.

The CFR is a non-partisan national membership organisation founded in 1921. The Council's mission is to increase America's understanding of the world and contribute ideas to US foreign policy.

Press Articles Financial Times

Press Release The Council on Foreign Relations Written by Lisbeth Kirk
Edited by Sharon Spiteri

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Aznar: dismisses counter-US defence group

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