Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-08-Speech-3-192"
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"en.20050608.17.3-192"2
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"Mr President, we have talked about transatlantic relations many times in the past. There was a debate only last January, which was followed by a resolution, and we now have a Euro-Atlantic Summit in Washington at the end of June, to name but a few. That is all useful and interesting of course, but there is still room for improvement in those relations, primarily by way of a change of mentality. For example, we are all agreed that the fight against terrorism on the one hand, and the promotion of democracy and peace in the world on the other, can only be successful if our partnership with the United States is reinforced, based on the western values we share.
When it comes to translating the principles into practice, though, things invariably go wrong. A perfect example is the European Council’s intention to remove the arms embargo against China. The US’s opposition to those plans is entirely appropriate. There is absolutely no point in paying lip service to democratisation in the rest of the world if, in practice, we do exactly the opposite by accommodating the wishes of a Chinese regime that is still as dictatorial as in the days when it crushed the protests on Tiananmen Square. We as Europeans should therefore search our own hearts from time to time.
In this part-session, I have heard the situation in Guantanamo Bay being discussed in various debates. Far be it from me to deny that we have a problem there, but constantly harping on about this issue does, however, reveal a certain level of hypocrisy on our part, certainly if we take the European shortcomings in fighting terrorism into consideration.
We can only be delighted about the positive outcome of the subsequent visits of President Bush and Condoleezza Rice to Europe. We must continue on this path, but if we talk about respect, then that respect should be mutual."@en1
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