Brussels, 23/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - In his very first address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on Thursday 22 September, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy spoke of the EU's involvement in the world. “Europe brings a message of cooperation, support and partnership”, he began, in a speech lasting 18 minutes during which he moved between French and English. “I am (…) the first to work full time to represent the 27 member states. This institutional innovation gives our Union greater continuity and coherence, with regard to the leaders of the rest of the world, too”, he stated, thanking the Assembly for recognising this change and allowing him to speak.
Hope. Van Rompuy wanted first of all to deliver a message of hope, recalling the “millions” of people who have been lifted out of poverty in the emerging economies and the independence of South Sudan. He also spoke of “new hope, most of all, thanks to the will of the peoples in Northern Africa and the Middle East to take the road of democracy”. He added, drawing attention to European aid: “We Europeans (…) wish this spring to blossom”.
Stating a few moments later that “the wind of change across the entire region should help you to get out of impasses”, the president of the Council addressed his words to the Israelis and Palestinians. “Now is the time for politics: for dialogue and negotiations. (…) The time to act is now.(…) There are political risks, but you need to take them - just like some of your predecessors did - with a view of offering a better and safer future to your communities. The status quo is no option.”
Concern. “But alongside the hope, there is reason for worry too”, said Van Rompuy, thinking particularly of Syria and calling on states to join Europe to bring pressure to bear on the regime in Damascus. He then set out other areas of concern, such as other on-going wars and conflicts, famine in Somalia, the safety of nuclear reactors, nuclear proliferation, and the behaviour of the North Korean and Iranian leaderships. He spoke, too, of climate change, noting Europe's commitments, which it will honour, and inviting “the rest of the industrialised countries to join us”.
“Faced with these realities of hope and worry in the world, the European Union takes up its responsibility. We act. Supporting the forces of hope. Fighting the causes of worry. And very concretely so. With means and money” he argued. “In the issues of global governance, Europe looks for solutions.” He said that the EU was constructive in trade negotiations, ambitious in climate talks and forthcoming in the reform of the world's financial institutions. “We simply cannot accept a stalemate, be it in Durban, Doha, Rio, or Cannes”, he made clear.
Van Rompuy also wanted to reassure partners, stressing that the EU assumes its responsibilities internationally and also within the Union, “the most serious test” being the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, he said. “We will continue to do what it takes to safeguard the financial stability of the eurozone, working on more governance, fiscal discipline and fiscal integration.” He called on the major economies to do likewise: “Each has to bring its own house in order - be it by bringing down its public debt, by stimulating domestic demand or by aligning exchange rates to economic fundamentals.”
“The 500,000 people in Europe refuse to turn in on themselves, turn away from 'splendid isolation'. Moreover, the world does not belong to any nation. This world belongs to us, to all of us”, Van Rompuy said in conclusion. (CG/transl.rt)