Brussels, 24/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - The US Ambassador with the EU, Rockwell Schnabel, defended the US position on Iran, including the somewhat disconcerting comment by Bush during his joint press conference with Jean-Claude Juncker after the meeting with EU leaders that: “the notion that the United States is preparing to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said this, all the options are on the table”. This declaration from George W. Bush contains a carefully thought-out “message” that is a perfect reflection of the “stick and carrot approach” that Americans and Europeans - who share the same objective - are applying to Teheran, Schnabel explained during the annual conference of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). The ambassador said US and EU policies towards the Iranian issue are complementary in so far as “Europeans negotiate and we are behind them”. He felt “this should make it easier for the Europeans to negotiate with Iran”. (See previous article).
Mr Schnabel also gave a more than satisfactory account of Mr Bush's visit to Brussels. “Mr Bush was, as he is really in his private and professional life, with his strong convictions and his skill in getting a point across and not dancing around the subjects”, said the ambassador who has known Bush for many years since the president was still in the business world. One of the most significant results of the visit was that European leaders really had an opportunity to “get to know him personally” in his capacity as “president of the United States but also as a human being”, Mr Schnabel said. In addition to the personal contact, however, the President's visit above all aimed at demonstrating and stressing the great importance that Bush attaches to relations with Europe and with the European Union in particular. “The visit was the statement”, Mr Schnabel said, regretting the “misunderstanding”' in Europe since Mr Bush was first elected in 2000 whereby US policy towards the EU had changed after Bill Clinton's departure. “No, the policy is the same as before - it has not changed”, but perhaps the European “perception” of the US policy has changed in a negative way under the influence of controversial subjects such as the Kyoto Protocol, certain trade conflicts, the dispute around the International Criminal Court and the war in Iraq. It is clear for Mr Bush that the European Union is the “key focal point for dealing with Europe”. “That does not mean the NATO alliance is losing importance in American eyes. Far from it. We continue to believe that NATO is the bedrock of our security relationship with Europe. So, let me be clear that the United States still considers NATO's role to be vital, but it also welcomes the EU's growing importance”, Mr Schnabel said.