Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-15-Speech-3-472-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120215.22.3-472-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank you for an excellent, informed and very committed debate. It is easy to understand why, as the situation is appalling. I believe that everyone in this Chamber shares the view that it is unbearable to watch people being fired at by mortar bombs in residential areas, people who go out and demonstrate peacefully being shot at, and people being tortured, disappearing or having to flee. I believe that everyone shares the same contempt for a regime that responds in such a way to its own people. That is also one of the reasons why we in the European Council have utilised almost every foreign minister meeting that I can remember to discuss Syria as one of the major topics.
It is important to emphasise that we have a strategy in the EU. We have a strategy that we are following and that we will continue to follow concerning the best way for Europe to help the Syrian people in the current situation. Our first message is: stop the violence. Stop shooting at your own people. This is the position that we are putting forward in all international fora in which we have the opportunity to do so. We are doing this in the United Nations General Assembly, where a vote will take place tomorrow on a resolution which will supposedly strongly condemn what is happening in Syria. We will also do this in relation to the UN Security Council, because, as many speakers have also mentioned, it is crucial to get the UN Security Council to criticise the position of Russia and China on this matter at every opportunity we get. As a responsible member of the Security Council, as one of the permanent representatives, we cannot just sit back and watch what is happening. We have a responsibility to protect, as some speakers have also said. That is something that we intend to pin both China and Russia down on. I also believe that it will make an impression not only if the EU says this here, but also if the Arab League and Turkey do so, too. I noticed today that China is on a tour around the Arab countries. They are presumably doing this because they believe that they have something to explain.
We will also use our opportunity at the meeting in Tunisia on 24 February to put our message across in respect of putting a stop to the violence and finding a political solution. After all, there is only a political solution to the crisis that we are facing. We will ultimately promote our position everywhere else, in all other fora in which we have the opportunity to do so. After all, that is what we as foreign ministers do – that is what Baroness Ashton, the High Representative, spends her time doing.
What are the options for action? Again, I understand your impatience very well. There are four possible areas for action that we will continue to pursue. The first is the consideration of a peacekeeping force, which will come from the Arab countries and which they wish to implement in collaboration with the UN. The specific form that this is to take is still somewhat unclear, but it is one of the topics we will pursue further when we meet in Tunisia. Next there is a proposal for international corridors. In this regard, I will simply say that we will certainly not rule this out, but it requires very strong backing from the international community, because where international corridors are concerned, we are talking about forcing our way forward. In this case, we are talking about military operations. There have also been some strong words said about avoiding a devastating civil war. I do not necessarily think it is wise to take more weapons into an area where there is a risk of civil war, with the risk of the situation getting out of control.
In reality, the debate today has confirmed much of what constitutes the EU’s position in this conflict. Firstly, we are continuing to tighten the sanctions. That is something that we will also do at the next meeting on 27 February. We are increasing the number of areas and the number of people covered by the sanctions. We are increasing humanitarian aid where we can and, in this regard, we are not ruling anything out. We are working ever more closely with the opposition and we are also calling on the members of the opposition to work closely together themselves so that we do not have an opposition that is fighting amongst themselves. That is absolutely crucial if a new Syria is to emerge.
Finally, I would like to make a comment regarding yet another debate, namely, the question of what alternative there is to President Assad. Someone said that it is ethnic extremism. I do not believe that. I believe that the Syrians have the same desire as everyone else, namely, to determine their own future in an arrangement in which we give them the opportunity to do so and we press for this to happen. I do not believe that any country is condemned to choose between a dictatorship or religious extremism. I think this is also the lesson we can learn from some of the elections we have seen in North Africa, for example, in Tunisia, where we are due to meet on 24 February.
Thank you for the debate. I will take the conclusions and the contributions that have been made to the High Representative, Baroness Ashton, and they will, of course, be used to help shape the opinions that will be the EU’s opinions on the conflict and our contribution to finding a solution to it."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples