Brussels, 29/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - Last week in Lisbon, the EU and China held a marathon eleven-hour session of "dialogue on human rights", but there were no concrete results. On Friday, experts from Member States will take stock of the situation at the technical level of the Council on the results of this meeting described as "difficult" by Community sources. The General Affairs Council will not give its position until 20 March on how appropriate it is to support the resolution on human rights in China that the United States plans to present that same day during the meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten had stepped pressure up the day before the meeting in Lisbon, describing the session as a "test" of Chinese determination to bring the twice yearly dialogue launched in 1997 to concrete results (see EUROPE of 24 February, p.4). Mr Patten had also clearly stated, before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, that, if dialogue did not bring any real progress, then the EU should contemplate another strategy and even the possibility of presenting a resolution to the United Nations (see EUROPE of 17 February, p.4).
During the meeting in Lisbon, the Chinese authorities did not make any commitments concerning improvements in the human rights situation on the ground and did not announce the release of any prisoners. On the other hand, according to indications given by Europeans, they proposed strengthening dialogue by organising specific meetings on specific issues, such as the death penalty for example.
Dialogue must also be brought back within the broader context of the previous meetings and judicial cooperation which, for example, is taking shape, insist Community sources. The European Commission is soon to propose options ranging from simply pursuing discussions to the suspension of dialogue or the presentation of a resolution to the UN. Most Member States remain, however, reticent about the idea of putting more pressure on China.