Brussels, 22/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The extraordinary European Council held on Friday evening in Brussels to define at the highest level the European Union's response to the 11 September attacks against the United States ended in a confirmation of the EU's concrete solidarity with the American people and also in a series of commitments in terms of the fight against terrorism that move beyond the tragic events of recent days and will require a serious effort on the part of some of the Union's Councils, particularly Transport and Justice/Home Affairs and the General Affairs Council which will be co-ordinating all the actions and reporting to the European Summit of Ghent on 19 October. The European Commission has been mandated to present the Ghent Summit with an analysis of the economic situation in the wake of the shock caused by the attacks and to make recommendations for Heads of State. Candidate countries for accession to the EU were invited to join the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council of 21 September. Mr Verhofstadt will be travelling to Washington on Thursday to keep the US informed about these conclusions.
The President of the EU Council, Guy Verhofstadt, said at his press conference that the EU gave a clear riposte to terrorism at the Summit and that in our conclusions, we immediately state that we reject any assimilation between fanatic terrorism and the Arab and Muslim worlds. He stressed the importance, in the conclusions, of recognising the legitimacy of the US riposte to the attacks, in line with Security Council Resolution 1368 (see full text of the conclusions in the annex). The conclusions also affirm that the Union is calling for as wide as possible global coalition against terrorism "under the aegis of the United Nations" and that the riposte has to be targeted and that EU Member States can take part in such action, each according to its means.
The latter nuance was necessary for some Member States - neutral countries of course, but also countries like Greece, whose Prime Minister Kostas Simitis particularly welcomed the reference to the United Nations. The final text was also considered as balanced by the Swedish Prime Minister, Göran Persson (who recalled that Stockholm wanted the EU to make progress in creating an area of freedom and justice) and the Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, who whilst recognising the US' right to take action, commented that some past experiences (like the interventions in Sudan and Afghanistan) had not been completely successful… How many Member States had insisted on the change to the wording of the conclusions in order to clearly state that each country would contribute "according to its means"? Answering this question at the final press conference, Guy Verhofstadt said that the text remained the same, except that the words "European Union" had become "Member States", because of the Treaty, and the limits it imposes. The Belgian Prime Minster repeated that, "the text is very clear, the most advanced form of solidarity, expressed in the clearest way possible".
Beyond the expression of concrete solidarity with the United States (the Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, was one of those who went the furthest in his expressions of solidarity, as he had already done at the Dutch parliament), the Summit approved an "Action Plan", outlined in brief by Mr Verhofstadt (see the conclusions for the details), focussing on:
1. Strengthening police and judicial co-operation in line with the guidelines of the Justice/Home Affairs (JHA) Council of 20 September. In terms of creating a European arrest warrant, Mr Verhofstadt exclaimed, "That's going further than yesterday's JHA!" (since the Council is invited to decide by 6/7 December at the latest on how the mandate will operate). Likewise, the creation of an anti-terrorist team at Europol is requested "in six months at the most, not a renewable six months", he commented. He also highlighted the request for the JHA Council to draw up a common list of terrorist organisations.
2. Developing international juridical instruments, including India's proposal to draw up a general anti-terrorism convention at the United Nations since the existing conventions only cover certain sectors.
3. Fighting against the funding of terrorism, through the Money Laundering Directive. The European Council asked the Council and the European Parliament to endorse the Directive at last. Mr Verhofstadt explained that the Council clearly said this to "Mme Fontaine who was there".
4. Tightening up air security with specific requests for the 15 October Transport Council.
Alongside the assurances it gave to Washington and the concrete Action Plan, the Summit:
insisted on the Union's commitments in the world, particularly mentioning the Middle East (see below) and the refugee problem, and asked the Commission to urgently draw up an aid programme, particularly for Afghan refugees - in Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, explained Mr Verhofstadt.
asked the European Commission to present an analysis (and recommendations) to the Ghent Summit on changes to the global economy. Mr Verhofstadt said that they were fully attached to the Stability Pact that is a Bible for us, turning his head towards the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, who said in a low voice, "almost the Bible", which made the President of the European Council immediately react: "No, No! The Bible! It's dangerous to say "almost"…
Romano Prodi: A new impulse must be given to the Barcelona Process
The current crisis must "serve to catalyse a serious effort aiming to take on all aspects of globalisation and therefore also the growing divide between haves and have-nots, the deterioration of the environment, international crime and clandestine immigration", said the President of the European Commission Romano Prodi in his intervention at the Summit. He laid particular emphasis on the need to:
Tighten up security inside the EU, particularly by improving nuclear safety and "taking measures against biological terrorism and chemical warfare".
Extend the EU's "active" participation in settling international crises and preventing conflicts, which will require a multiplication of efforts with regard to countries around the Mediterranean. "The Barcelona process did not obtain the desired results and it must be given a new impulse by strengthening and rethinking its structures and policies", said Mr Prodi. He also mentioned "Pakistan's courageous decision to support the war against terrorism", explaining that the Commission was in the process of preparing to supply humanitarian aid (warning that the refugee problem in the area will get significantly worse).
Safeguard economic stability, which means that "our citizens… must know that we are prepared to intervene if it is needed". Mr Prodi said that EU public opinion "must understand that we are prepared to act collectively if the situation requires it. We fully recognise the Growth and Stability Pact. Even though it foresees "particular circumstances", it is clear that for the moment we have not yet reached them, and we are not expecting to reach them in the near future". Mr Prodi concluded that the Commission was prepared to make the recommendations at Ghent that might prove necessary in order to strengthen the decisions that were taken in Lisbon (at the March 2000 Summit).
Mr Chirac insists on rejection of any assimilation
Commenting on this Summit, that was "necessary to show the cohesion of the European Union" and "useful for clarifying certain issues and adopting a common position", President Jacques Chirac said that it had been "well prepared and well run by the Belgian Presidency", paying tribute to Louis Michel (congratulating him in particular for the way he had represented the EU in Durban). The French President explained that the EU had immediately united to reaffirm its solidarity with the United States, and stressed that this was "solidarity from the heart but also the brain" against terrorism. Like Mr Verhofstadt, he insisted on the fact that the declaration begin by "a formal rejection of any assimilation" which would be "profoundly unfair" for Arabs and Muslims, but which is also a "trap set by the terrorists". "Terrorists do not embody any civilisation", said Mr Chirac, condemning the idea of a "clash of civilisations" that the terrorists want to drag us into. He affirmed that it was not a fight of "the West against terrorism" but "the World against terrorism". After stressing the "decisive role of the UN", he called for more aid for Afghan refugees. On the economic situation in the US, he said, "There are of course uncertainties and difficulties. We will get over them". Asked about the support that the Europeans might provide for the US military riposte, he said that one would have to wait for the United States to take their decision and make their requests. In terms of Bin Laden's responsibility, he said, "The Americans are now certain about it. We do not have absolute certainty, but everything is moving in that direction". After devoting much time - like Mr Chirac - to the catastrophe that hit the city of Toulouse on Friday, the French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, insisted above all on the need to create a European arrest warrant, but he acknowledged that this would pose problems. He hoped that the Money Laundering Directive would be adopted by the end of the year.
Mr Schröder talks of a fight for culture that must be lead by a global coalition
"This is not a fight against Islam" nor a "fight against cultures, but a fight for culture", hammered home the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, who also stressed the need for a "global coalition" against a terrorism that relied on "an abusive use of religions". Resuming the EU's conclusions, Mr Schröder insisted above all on the targeted nature that the US riposte must take in order to win the support of EU Member States and the consultation that would have to precede it. After calling for a new start for the Middle East peace process, he also came back on the message of confidence that the EU wanted to send to economic players, welcoming the speed with which the European Central Bank had reacted, together with the US Federal Reserve, after the attacks on New York and Washington.
Mr Straw's mission in the Middle East
The British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, explained that everyone, whether Muslim, Christian or of other religions, must mobilise against the threat of terrorism because what we saw on 11 September has not been seen for decades and requires an international coalition. He said that he would be travelling next week to Jordan, Iran, Israel, Palestine and Egypt. In response to a journalist's question, he justified stopping off in Iran by the very strong reaction of the Iranian government against the attacks perpetrated in the United States.
Mr Berlusconi: the West reacted wisely
The Summit also enabled us to "tell the Americans that we are with them", commented the President of the Italian Council, Silvio Berlusconi. He felt that "we are dealing with a new terrorism, which seems to come from fundamentalist factions in the Muslim world which want to stop what they see as the oppression of the Islamic civilisation by the Western civilisation. They attacked symbols of free trade with the World Trade Centre and US diplomacy with the Pentagon, before failing with the symbol of political power - the White House". He said that the terrorists wanted the Western world to react against the Arab countries and for this to unleash a religious war. "This reaction did not happen, because the West has so far reacted wisely", he commented. "It will be a long struggle… At the dawn of the 21st century, we have the duty to take forward this more advanced civilisation than those that are stuck in the past or even in the Middle Ages… The Western world must be more generous in spreading its model of state organisation, public administration, the legal system, etc", argued the Italian Prime Minister. He said that Western countries were duty-bound to fight against poverty in developing countries, including for "selfish reasons and to prevent epidemics from spreading there, to cut unsustainable migration and the danger of fundamentalism".
Mr Aznar: a historic step in the fight against terrorism
The Spanish Prime Minister, José Maria Aznar, spoke about a "fundamental day in the struggle against terrorism in Spain", and insisted on the creation of a European arrest warrant. "The common action against terrorism has implacably begun", he said, stressing that the EU had "finally arrived at a policy that Spain has been working towards for such a long time". José Maria Aznar sees it as a "step in the history of the European Union", adding that Spain "was ruling nothing out in terms of the Spanish contribution to future operations".