Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-11-Speech-3-024-000"
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"en.20110511.4.3-024-000"2
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"Madam President, Baroness Ashton, you have faced many criticisms over the last few days, Baroness Ashton. Some are no more than cheap political moves and my group has condemned them. Others, however, cannot be dismissed out of hand and I would like to share my concerns with you.
It is true that we do not always have a clear grasp of the EU’s external policy, particularly in terms of what it is aiming to achieve, in other words, its purpose. Your communiqués are adopted but are often low-key, from which we can deduce that there are probably differences of opinion within the Union, which is, in itself, a message, albeit a negative one. So, you set to work, you have your meetings, make your phone calls, you give it all you have got, there is no doubt about that, but the results of these efforts are, unfortunately, diluted in the media ruckus, and hence the Union’s foreign policy appears extremely weak in the face of the thunderous speeches delivered by some European Heads of State.
Yet here you have an extraordinary political space opening up in front of you with the Arab revolutions, and the role of European diplomacy in that space needs to be made very clear, because beyond the specific characteristics of each country, it is true that everything is connected. For instance, the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation would have been inconceivable without the Arab revolution in Egypt and also without the recent bloody repression in Syria. Indeed, it is because Bashar al-Assad has crossed the red line that Hamas suddenly no longer feels at ease in Damascus and is considering moves to Qatar and Cairo, and that it wanted to hold last-minute negotiations when it had been negotiating for ages. These opportunities need to be seized!
So what is our current policy on Syria and the Middle East? As I have said, it is unsatisfactory. Furthermore, I share the anger of some of my fellow Members regarding the Syrian exception and now the exception for Bashar al-Assad, who has avoided sanctions. This needs to be explained to us better, Baroness Ashton.
One more thing. Unless an eleventh-hour candidacy is received from Kuwait or Nepal, at the instigation of the United States, we could well see Syria heading up the UN Human Rights Council on 20 May. Can you really see Syria chairing the UN Human Rights Council?
Baroness Ashton, sanctions are not enough. Have you campaigned against Syria chairing the UN Human Rights Council? Have you pushed for an international inquiry into the massacres? Even if you do not manage to persuade the Heads of State – and I agree with Mr Cohn-Bendit here – say so, do not leave us guessing! It is this ambiguity that weighs us down.
As for the Middle East, I am not exactly in agreement with you. You have cautiously welcomed the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, but will you engage in dialogue with Hamas? Are we to repeat the mistakes of 2007? As we know, the situation is certainly very complicated. However, I think we need to grasp this opportunity. Hamas has supported the Arab peace initiative. Both parties have made incredible concessions to form this government. In the agreement governing the formation of this future government, which will take place in a month perhaps, there was acceptance of the concept of elections, of the Palestinian Authority, of the fact that Mahmoud Abbas could take part in negotiations, and of the concept of the 1967 borders, which are both an essential requirement and an implicit recognition of Israel. So do not tell me that you still stand where you stood two years ago. That would be unthinkable for us.
Baroness Ashton, the matter is urgent. Caution in politics is no replacement for boldness: they must go hand in hand. Parliament will always be behind you if you have the courage to provide a strong vision."@en1
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