Brussels, 31/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - "The way in which the initiative by five EU Member States and the three candidate countries was taken on the issue of Iraq does not contribute to the joint handling of the issue", complained European Council President Costas Simitis in a written declaration commenting on the joint declaration of solidarity with the United States in the conflict published in several European newspapers on Thursday and signed by five EU Heads of Government - Spanish, British, Italian, Portuguese and Danish - as well as by the Czech, Polish and Hungarian leaders (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.6). "The EU is aiming at having a common foreign policy (and) consequently an understanding is also necessary on the issue of Iraq, as precisely was the case at the general Affairs Council" of 27 January, the Greek Prime Minister recalled (see EUROPE of 28 January, p.5). The Greek Presidency will continue to strive in favour of a common position, Simitis assured. "These countries acted outside the process of the EU and created the possibility for misunderstanding", regretted Council President Georges Papandreou. According to the Greek Foreign Minister, it is anyway clear that, with the common position adopted on Monday, the Fifteen demand that Iraq disarms and support the efforts of the inspectors.
In Brussels, the spokesman for the Greek Presidency confirmed that the Presidency was considering the possibility of convening a special meeting of EU Heads of State or Government on Iraq. The meeting could take place between 4 and 15 February. In Greece, Georges Papandreou, for his part, said that he could meet the ministers of the 28 current and future member states to discuss the Iraqi crisis.
"The race of the vassals has begun", commented, for his part, the chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Elmar Brok, for whom the result of the joint declaration by the eight leaders was that "we missed our opportunity of having Europe's voice heard". The CDU member is heading an ad hoc delegation of the European Parliament which will have talks at the Security Council in New York on 2 and 3 February. The MEPs, other than Elmar Brok, Emma Nicholson, Philippe Morillon, Jannis Sakellariou, Emilio Menendez del Valle, Joost Lagendijk, Andre Brie, Jean-Charles Marchiani and Florence Kuntz - will meet, among others, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, representatives of the European Union, the United States and Iraq, John Richardson, John Negroponte and Mohammed Aldouri, and the head of the UN inspectors Hans Blix (see EUROPE of 30 January, p.5, for the videoconference between Mr. Blix and the Conference of EP Presidents). Furthermore, sessions are scheduled with Louisa Frechette, UN Deputy Secretary General, who chairs the Steering Committee on Iraq, the Under Secretary responsible for co-ordinating humanitarian affairs Kenzo Oshima, Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, President of the Security Council, and the representatives of the other EU States currently members of the security Council - France, Britain, Germany and Spain (See yesterday's EUROPE, p. 4 for the resolution adopted in plenary, and 30 January, p.4 for the debate).
In addition, the President of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, recalled that his group was against the sending of a delegation of MEPs to Baghdad who, he fears risk being "used by Saddam Hussein" (concerning the trip to Baghdad of 33 MEPs from the GUE/NGL, PES, Greens/EFA, and EDD, see yesterday's EUROPE page 5). The CDU member also warned against any worsening of the dispute with the United States, considering that allusions to the "vassals" of the Americans were hardly constructive in current circumstances (but he agreed with Mr. Brok in criticising the Schroeder Government in this affair).