Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-05-Speech-3-348"
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"en.20070905.24.3-348"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the report we are debating deserves our support in the first place because it examines in great breadth and detail a topic which is highly relevant for the European Union’s external dimension and I should like, therefore, to congratulate the rapporteur.
The worst thing that could happen for the European Union’s commitment to the global promotion of fundamental human rights would be for this to become an isolated question, dealt with separately. The alternative, the right option I think, is to regard the promotion of human rights as both an ethical duty, for reasons which are self-evident, and as in the EU’s interest insofar as the instability, migratory flows and political and military tensions linked to human rights violations give rise to crises which make the world a more dangerous place.
I therefore agree with the fundamental question, but we ought to look into the question of the method. If the EU were to maintain relations only with countries that respect human rights as we defend them, then our firm relations would extend to only a few countries. Conversely, if the European Union were always to opt for the realism of economic, energy, geostrategic and other interests, it would soon discover that rather than defending immediate advantages it was actually creating greater dangers for the future.
What we must hope for is a coherent EU strategy which includes the tangible and quantifiable promotion of human rights on its foreign policy agenda. It is not an option to allocate budgetary funds without evaluating the result of their application or to pay lip service to proposals which are never realised.
In this connection, the next EU-Africa Summit is an opportunity not to be missed. If we wish to help Africa and the Africans – and we do – we must be generous and demanding in equal measure. We do not, as I said, delude ourselves that we can only forge relations with countries which respect fundamental values, but we must maintain the conviction that the human rights agenda is part of our policy for relations with those countries. Otherwise we should be yielding to the force of some dictator and giving a signal, not of our goodwill but of our lack of political capability and negotiating strength
A better world, Madam President, is a safer world and Europe cannot confuse the soft power of its diplomacy with dream power, or worse still, with no power at all."@en1
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