Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-26-Speech-3-036"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030326.5.3-036"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr President of the Commission, when we debated the Iraqi crisis in Strasbourg a fortnight ago, there was still an albeit faint hope that it would in the end prove possible to avoid violence and to exhaust every means for a peaceful settlement of the problems, as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 1441.
Unfortunately, this hope was dashed by the so-called new strategic dogma, and global public opinion is witnessing a military conflict which, over and above its uniformed and civilian casualties, to all of whom we pay our respects, has inflicted collateral damage on basic institutions and parameters of international life such as the UN, the guardian of the fundamental prerogatives of the international system of law, transatlantic relations, which are indispensable to international equilibrium and, finally, the cohesion of the European Union, at least in the foreign policy sector, which is vital if it is to have a decisive presence on the international stage.
All these institutional factors have been seriously damaged and are being severely tested, in such a way that their future, or at least their ability to play their particular role in international events efficiently, still hangs in the balance; they have to face up to a great many unpleasant truths both now and in the long term, the most important of which, of course, is the fact that the authority and the very essence of the UN have been undermined and those who favour unilateralism and high-handedness over logic and legality when acting to resolve what are doubtless very real problems have left its principles and rules in tatters.
It is no use confining ourselves to a diagnosis of the current tragic situation and a prognosis of its inauspicious prospects, however. On the contrary, we need to turn our attention to the future and support the overwhelming majority of nations and governments by trying, even before the war ends – which we all hope will be sooner rather than later – to restore the prestige of the United Nations, which will undertake to restore normal conditions in Iraq, strengthen the transatlantic relationship within a framework of cooperation and on an absolutely equal footing and consolidate European unity, so that the sad events we have witnessed over the last few days never act as a future precedent and are consigned to history as an example to be avoided."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples