Berlin, 20/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, Chancellor Schröder recommended to the Bundestag that the EU should adopt development aid measures for countries taking part in the fight against terrorism. He stated that "to achieve this, we want to provide, in the context of development aid, incentive measures to countries that say they are willing to cooperate in the fight against terrorism (…) We must and want to finalise a global crisis prevention and settlement plan. This plan must be based on cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and security fields". It should aim at stabilising the Middle East and Central Asia, he explained, while insisting on the need to first of all focus "all our efforts on achieving peace in the Middle East".
Military cooperation with the United States is "conceivable" but Europeans are not willing to commit themselves to this "venture"
In Washington on Tuesday, President Chirac assured his American counterpart of France's "unreserved determination" to "fight with all necessary effectiveness against this new kind of absolute evil, terrorism". He specified, however, that "military cooperation is of course conceivable but only in so far as we are consulted in advance on the aims and the modalities of such action". Mr Schröder spoke in almost identical terms at the Bundestag: "There is a duty that corresponds to each right, a right corresponds to every duty of the Allies. He named: information and consultation. We hope to reach, as Germans and Europeans, unlimited solidarity with the United States for all necessary measures. Germany is ready to take on risks, even military risks, but not a venture without aim".