Vilnius, 06/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU's foreign affairs ministers met in Vilnius on 6 September to discuss, among other issues, the situation in Syria. Their positions still seem divergent. Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevicius was clear - “We need a more coordinated approach”. “I am sure that, after the discussion, we will be capable of having a more coordinated position and a more common view because we have to respond to what has happened”, he said, believing the use of chemical weapons to be unacceptable. However, the task was not likely to be easy. Before arriving at the informal gymnich, France's Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius warned that “the issue is to know if there can be a European position or if Europe is not capable of taking a position”. “This position, at the least, must say: we condemn the use of chemical weapons and we note, with the evidence that we have brought, that it is the regime of Bashar al-Assad that is the perpetrator of this massacre”, he told the AFP news agency, saying that things will be “more complicated” as regards the “consequences to be drawn”.
Awaiting the UN report. Once in Vilnius, Fabius stated that the United Nations investigators' report will not answer the question of who is responsible for the attack and nor, then, the way to punish the regime. “Many people are saying: we must wait for the inspectors' report, etc. But there is a great risk of being disappointed because, if they answer a question to which everybody knows the answer (whether or not there has been a chemical attack) and not the question at issue … that's the difficulty”, he said, not wanting to say more.
Several ministers spoke of the need to await the report of the UN inspectors. Stating that nothing is yet clear with regard to the attack on 21 August, Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle stressed the importance of the UN report. “My request is that we obtain the results of the inspection team as quickly as possible and then that we have an independent statement by an independent institution, one that is neutral. And I think that it is important for many other discussions in some of our partners' capitals”.
“We are still waiting for the inspectors' report, which is, I think, important. We want to see what they have been able to find”, said Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. In his view, the report “will give a much more complete picture” of the situation. Regarding strikes, he said that “we are not there yet”.
Other ministers were more harsh. “It is tragic for many countries (…) to have to choose, on the one hand, between the position of America and France, which are becoming references as regards the interpretation of international law, and on the other hand, the fundamental rules of the United Nations”, said Luxembourg's minister, Jean Asselborn. In his view, strikes will not settle anything. “The political solution must not be forgotten before making strikes, because once we have struck, the political solution becomes enormously difficult”. “The issue (…) consists of the fact that we have spoken about military strikes before having spoken of a solution at the United Nations”, he added, calling for “everything to be done in order to have this debate at the Security Council right to the end” (our translation throughout).
As a prelude to the gymnich, on Thursday 5 September, the defence ministers discussed the possibility and consequences of military intervention against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Jean-Yves Le Drian from France explained his country's motivation at length - without managing to diminish the reluctance of certain partners like Germany, Italy and Belgium, which continue to favour a political solution to the Syrian crisis and want to wait for the report of the UN experts and a further discussion at the Security Council. The defence ministers also began to prepare for the European Council in December. They had an exchange of views with European Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier on the proposals contained in the Commission's communication on the defence sector (see our publication Europe Diplomacy and Defence for further information). (CG with OJ/transl.fl)