Applicant countries blocked from EU summit on Iraq

Friday February 14, 2003 00:00

by observer

The invitations to attend the summit were sent out to the enlargement countries on Wednesday morning by the Greek EU presidency, but by the afternoon the invitations had been withdrawn.

Germany, France and Belgium have blocked candidate countries from attending Monday's EU summit on Iraq. Britain and Spain argued that accession countries should attend the meeting, hoping for their support in a possible war with Iraq, reports the Financial Times.

The invitations to attend the summit were sent out to the enlargement countries on Wednesday morning by the Greek EU presidency, but by the afternoon the invitations had been withdrawn. Germany, France and Belgium were among the countries arguing that it would be inappropriate for the candidate countries to attend the meeting.

Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have expressed their solidarity with Washington and were also hoping to attend the meeting. However, now they will only be debriefed on the outcome on Tuesday.

Britain looking for support
According to the Financial Times, France thinks that Britain was pushing for the candidate countries to be invited in the hope that they would support the British stance on Iraq. Greece, which holds the current presidency of the EU, is hoping that EU member states will be able to agree on a common strategy on Monday.

"I am still convinced war is not inevitable and I continue to hope it can be avoided by applying strict controls to the Iraqi dictatorship and maintaining and strengthening the international alliance against terrorism, " said Romano Prodi, European Commission president said in a speech yesterday.

"Unless Europe speaks with a single voice, it will be impossible to continue working closely with the US on a longstanding basis while retaining our dignity," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

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Comments (3 of 3)

reactionary EU applicant countries

by polish catholic pope

Sun Feb 16, 2003 22:31

These new EU applicant Eastern Europeans are so right wing, that the peoples of Western Europe will rue the day they let them enter the EU. They will be tools for the USA in its every evil venture, they will stifle any slight movement toward a progressive social pliicy in the EU. In short they will be to paraphrase Marx a bastion of reaction.

Just one big happy family

Fri Feb 14, 2003 00:07

NATO Admiral appointed leader of first EU force
RAINER FEIST - German Admiral and NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Command Europe appointed to lead EU forces in Macedonia.
EUOBSERVER / MUNICH - The decision-making process for the Macedonia crisis management is keeping in time with the March deadline. On Thursday, NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson appointed German Admiral Rainer Feist, Deputy Supreme Commander Europe, as operational commander for the EU-led crisis management units. The decision was based on a formal request from the EU Council headed by its foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Admiral Feist told the EUobserver that the preparation for the takeover of the NATO-led "Aktive Harmonise" is going very well. Open problems on both operation plans as well as classification regulations will be solved very soon and he believes the EU will be able to take over responsibility in March.

In crisis management operations, there is full agreement from the European Union to act separately but not separate where NATO as a whole is not engaged. This is why the EU will use NATO assets for the FYROM mission.

Admiral Feist said a FYROM operation cell would be installed at the NATO military Headquarter SHAPE, south of Brussels. Military units will be composed from all 15 EU member countries - also from non-NATO countries.

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Mons, Belgium, is the Headquarters of Allied Command Europe (ACE), one of NATO's two main military commands.

Former Nato chief adds his views

Fri Feb 14, 2003 00:05

Solana says Powell's evidence is irrefutable
JAVIER SOLANA - "The member states of the European Union have a common position, we want the process to continue in the [UN] Security Council. It is there that we should take all important positions"
EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana has stated that he finds the evidence put forward by US Secretary of State Colin Powell "irrefutable" proof that Baghdad is hiding weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking in Belgrade, Mr Solana described Mr Powell's presentation as "very important" and pointed once again to the primacy of the UN. "The member states of the European Union have a common position, we want the process to continue in the [UN] Security Council. It is there that we should take all important positions", said Mr Solana, encouraging Iraq to comply fully with the UN weapons inspectors.

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Applicant countries blocked from EU summit on Iraq

Comments (3 of 3)