Brussels, 13/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - During the solemn session of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament which was devoted, on Wednesday, to the attacks on the United States the day before, European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine proposed holding an "exceptional European Council". She stressed that the European Union will only be credible "if it has a common policy to fight terrorism" and that "events yesterday show (…) the absolute need to set a defence Europe in place as soon as possible, as well as a common security and foreign policy". The joint president of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group, Heidi Hautala, suggested an EU/United States summit should be convened "to deal with all aspects of the new terrorist threats, including the social and political causes". The president of the Union for a Europe of Nations Group, Charles Pasqua, recommended the "establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court" that would analyse information exchanged between Europeans and with other countries on the subject of terrorist threats. After a one minute silence for the victims of the terrorist attacks, all the MEPs taking the floor urged for cooperation to be stepped up in the fight against terrorism, and several among them gave warned that the tragic events of 11 September must not encourage confusion between Islam and fanatic terrorism. Ms Fontaine, dressed in black, pointed out that the Parliament should hold an indepth debate on these issues during its mini-session of 19 and 20 September.
Speaking before the plenary, European Council President Guy Verhofstadt said that "today we all feel American" and "we cannot neglect any concrete gesture, any strong gesture" that will help the United States. Mr Verhofstadt announced that, on the occasion of the national day of mourning and solidarity with the American people, on 14 September (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.4), the Fifteen will adopt a declaration to which it invites the association of the candidate countries. The economic and social structures of our countries are "strong and resilient" and "we shall not allow terrorism to divide us and divide the world", exclaimed the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. He gave his assurance that the Europeans will work in close cooperation with the Americans and with other alliance countries while stressing that the phenomenon of terrorism also has a "specifically European" dimension (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.5). The EU Council President, Louis Michel, stressed the need for "indepth dialogue with the countries of the world where terrorism is developing", given the advance of this "masked" terror. One must react in a responsible way, and "avoid all improvisation", warned Mr Michel, who recalled that the General Affairs Council on Wednesday afternoon had called on the Justice/Home Affairs Council and the Transport Council to take every measure necessary to ensure safety of citizens, mainly safety in air transport (the JHA Council will discuss this on 27 September and the Transport Council will do so at its informal meeting on 14 and 15 September, he announced).
During the debate, the president of the EPP-ED Group, Hans-Pert Pöttering, also gave a warning. Strongly applauded by his colleagues, he said: "We must beware of generalisations (…) of the temptation" to put terrorism and the Islamic world in the same bag. We must clearly state that we wish to live "in partnership and, if possible, in friendship, with the Arab countries". He said he would never forget the speech made in February 1981 when President Sadate said that Islam is a religion of tolerance. The CDU member, who also affirmed that it is in Europe's interest to have a "strong" America (he recalled that the United States has helped Europe to overcome national-socialism, and also "totalitarian communism"). "No, Mr Pöttering, we are not confusing whole populations with fanatic terrorists", commented the president of the United Left/Nordic Greens Left Group, Francis Wurtz, who felt "nothing would be more dangerous than to react to this radically new phenomenon with old concepts that have shown their limits". Enrique Baron stated that the role of Europe in the fight against terrorism must be strengthened as terrorism has become "global", although one must not "answer terror with terror". He added that we must do so with our American allies, with the Congress, and with our other allies. The President of the Liberal Group, Pat Cox, took inspiration from President Kennedy's statement at the Berlin Wall "Ich bin ein Berliner", saying "today, we are all New Yorkers, or from Washington". In a very lyrical speech, the Irish MEP recalled the American symbols so dear to Europeans: the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island (the island opposite New York where so many emigrants set foot on American soil for the first time). Mr Cox also proposed opening a "book of condolences" from MEPs to be handed to the US Congress, and Ms Fontaine said this would be done on Thursday morning. As soon as they have been identified, the terrorists should be brought before an international tribunal for crimes against humanity, said the co-president of the Greens Group/EFA, Heidi Hautala. She added "this is the time to speed up the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the USA should recognise the need for such an institution" (Ed. The US had wanted to reduce the powers of the future Court). If the United States react with "attacks on possible suspect countries, they will not only be killing more innocent people just like those who died so tragically yesterday but they will also be encouraging further counter attacks", said the Finnish MEP, who recalled the consequences of the "spiral of revenge" in the Middle East. Ms Hautala also felt that, confronted by this "low-tech" kind of terrorism, "high-tech measures such as a missile defence system would be powerless". Non-Attached MEP Georges Berthu affirmed that it is better to make our territories safe havens and that Europe should therefore examine how appropriate it is to set in place its own "shield against all the risks that we can anticipate" (the danger of a missile attack). "A political response on a global scale to this unprecedented challenge" is needed, concluded Ms Hautala, as "if there is widespread fanaticism, which breeds and supports this sort of terrorism, we can assume that there is something politically wrong".
"There is no good terrorism or bad terrorism, there is just terrorism", pounded out Charles Pasqua, President of the UEN Group. He believes the United States is perhaps wrong in believing it is sheltered from this danger that so many European countries have lived through over recent years (he cited Germany, Italy, France and Spain). In his view, "there would be nothing worse" than adopting an attitude that would give rise to "solidarity between terrorism and the Islam world". It would be "the most stupid thing possible", said the former French Interior Minister, who expressed the hope that the Muslim religious leaders would condemn the attacks that took place on 11 September. "While we are crying, the time is not for hate and vengeance - this is the only world we have", implored Jens-Peter Bonde, President of the Group of a Europe of Democracies and Diversities. He hoped that the tragic day of 11 September would be a "turning point in history that will help us to take better care of this world". The Danish MEP made a fervent plea to bridge the gap between the West and the rest of the world, to respect human rights and the right to self-rule, and to help the poor before they become "suicide terrorists". Georges Berthu (France NA) said "this new war will force us to revise all our strategic concepts" and should also encourage Europe to "make security a more pressing issue than the abolition of border controls". He also considered that the countries that have eased off their defence effort (like France "in recent years") should take them up again. Lista Bonino elected member Olivier Dupuis chose as his argument the fact that the Americans have no doubt been attacked because their policy is not as "hypocritical" as the European policy. He was highly critical of the EP which, in his view, was recently "taken hostage by a few crypto-Stalinians that pushed it to take unilateral pro-Palestinian stances". Once more, Mr Dupuis defended the position of the Italian Radicals who call for Israel's entry into the EU. It is the "only true democracy in the region", he said, and the "only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" would be for it to belong to the EU.
(In a declaration issued in Rome, MEP Emma Bonino affirmed that the West must "give Islamic fundamentalism a political response, as communism did during the last century").
Message from EP delegation for relations with the United States
Furthermore, British Labour member Imelda Read, Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the United States (who was in Washington on the day of the attacks) wrote to Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the US Senate and to Benjamin A. Gilman, from the House of Representatives, stating the Parliament's will to be at the side of the United States in its fight against terrorism. The EP delegation, added Ms Read, is willing to take part in any event that will demonstrate its common determination to work together to promote peace, security and prosperity in the world.