Brussels, 01/08/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1st July, the EU called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” to be followed by “a sustainable cease-fire” between Israel and Hezbollah. Meeting in extraordinary session of the External Relations and General Affairs Council in Brussels, EU foreign ministers made the deployment of an international force in South Lebanon conditional on a political settlement between the two parties. This force would be under the aegis of the UN, but would have a strong EU component, the Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuamioja, expressing his pleasure that the EU was speaking with one voice, told press.
The continuation of violence on the ground “has encouraged, I would say, obliged the European Union to deliver a clear statement on its policy and contribution to the solution of he conflict” in Lebanon, Mr Tuomioja said, welcoming the conclusions finally adopted by the Council after four hours of “intense” discussions. The Presidency, of course, denied that there were any differences between EU Member States, rather speaking a strong piece of drafting to satisfy all the delegations. Nonetheless, although the draft text presented by Finland at the start of the meeting called for an “immediate cease-fire”, the text finally adopted by the Council called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” to be followed by a “sustainable cease-fire”. Several Member States (United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands) would appear to have been at the origin of this modification finally proposed by Luxemburg. Pressed to explain the difference between a cessation of hostilities and a cease-fire, the Chairman of the Council asked for people not to play with semantics. Cessation of hostilities means “an end to the killing”, while a cease-fire “is based on a sustainable political agreement,” he said.
In its conclusions, the Council expresses its “utmost concern” at the Lebanese and Israeli civilian casualties, the human suffering, the destruction of civil infrastructure and the number of displaced persons. It “condemns the rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Israel” and “the death of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, in an Israeli air-strike on the Lebanese village of Qana”. The Council considers that “all attacks against UN personnel are unacceptable and deplores the tragic deaths of four UN military observers”. “All parties must do everything possible to protect civilian populations and to refrain from actions in violation of international humanitarian law,” adds the Council. A less strong text than the Presidency's initial draft which stipulated that failure to take the necessary steps to avoid loss of civilian life was a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
The Council supports the efforts of the United Nations to define “a political framework for a lasting solution agreed by all parties, which is a necessary pre-condition for deployment of an international force”. This force requires a strong mandate from the UN to act in support of a political settlement and the Lebanese armed forces. Member States are ready to contribute to such an operation once the mandate is known and the political framework set out, said the Council Chairman, indicating that this had to happen “not in a few weeks, but in a few days”. He stressed that this would be “a United Nations, not an EU, mission”, but one in which “the EU would certainly form the largest contingent” and he said this would be a real “test of the EU's credibility”.
In its conclusions, the Council notes the EU's commitment towards Lebanon and says it is “ready to contribute to rebuilding a Lebanese state able to exercise full sovereignty on its territory and to protect its people”. It considers that the Lebanese plan, presented to the UN Security Council the previous day by its Prime Minister, is a “good basis for a lasting solution”, which must include the return of abducted soldiers and prisoners, a settlement of the international borders of Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces through the whole of its territory, backed by an international force, and the implementation of the Ta'if Accords (which put an end to the civil war in Lebanon) and UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1680 (which provide for disarming Hezbollah).
In an allusion to Iran Syria, Jordan and Egypt, the Council calls on “all parties in the region with influence to help bring to an end the violence and the suffering that it brings”. It also deplores the violence in Gaza and the West Bank that has led to an “equally distressing humanitarian situation”. The EU says it is committed to promoting a comprehensive peace plan for the Middle East in close cooperation with partners and the countries of the region, and has asked the EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana to remain in contact with all the relevant parties and to be ready to contribute to a political solution and to the peace process.
Reactions of several ministers
Britain's Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett told the press that she had not been able to hold out against her colleagues who wanted the declaration to include the words “immediate cessation of hostilities” instead of “immediate ceasefire”. She said the ministers agreed on “cessation of violence”, that is “something practical” that can be “lasting” and “lead to a ceasefire”. In response to the question “What will Israel's reaction be to this declaration?”, Ms Beckett said it is necessary to “wait and see”. On the subject of an international force in Lebanon, she said “no-one spoke of a force to disarm Hezbollah” as this task is up to the Lebanese forces. She then said it was necessary, in the longer term, to envisage a new relationship with the countries of the Middle East. “Our discussion was constructive and satisfying because it was substantial”, Franck-Walter Steinmeier of Germany said after the meeting which, in his view, took them a “decisive step forward”. “Cessation of hostilities is not a ceasefire”, he admitted, specifying that a ceasefire “can be reached later”. Mr Steinmeier added that they could call on the Security Council and put pressure on so that “no more time is lost”. Philippe Douste Blazy of France said Tuesday's meeting has “proved that there is a political Europe”. “I unsuccessfully requested at the Rome conference an immediate cessation of hostilities as a political agreement is needed for a lasting ceasefire - that is the only condition for taking part in a multinational force in southern Lebanon”, he said, adding that the text approved by the 25 “has strong political value”. France will now present its draft UN resolution to all its partners, he went on to say, assuring that he hopes to “work with the United States”. “Iran can play a role but it is up to Iran to show it can live up to its responsibilities”, he noted, stressing, moreover, that the only solution for disarming Hezbollah is a political solution: “We do not believe in a military solution. Only a political agreement can bring about a lasting solution”. Massimo d'Alema, Italian Foreign Minister, said they had adopted a “strong message” that is addressed not only to the “fundamentalist party” which hopes to fuel the conflict, but also to Israel. He recalled that the EU Council has adopted the “same wording” as that in the French proposal for a Security Council resolution. “There was unanimous agreement in Council” on the text of the conclusions adopted, Mr D'Alema told journalists. He saw “no opposition” from Germany, the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. He restated his country's readiness to take part in an international interposition force under the aegis of the UN, a force that should be deployed ”quite rapidly”.