Brussels, 24/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - Speaking before the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier came under fire from a battery of questions from MEPs interested in the many themes and regions of the world that are included in the German presidency's priorities (European Neighbourhood Policy - ENP, energy policy, Iran, Middle East, Iraq, Turkey, Ukraine, Central Asia, Latin America, etc.). The day after the General Affairs Council, however, the German foreign minister was mainly asked about Serbia's future in Europe (EUROPE 9349).
Serbia and Kosovo. While Democrat forces will be seeking to come to an agreement on forming a government, Steinmeier remained firm on Kosovo, dismissing any idea of postponing the matter of status. “I do not think it is possible to put off the process any longer” and “run the risk of putting off the status of Kosovo indefinitely”, he said, recalling that the presentation of the report by Martti Ahtisaari could be anytime after 26 January. “There is reason to hope that there will be a sufficient number of reasonable political leaders on all sides to avoid greater instability in the region”, the minister said regarding discussions between Serbs and Kosovars on proposals. One can expect “minimum acceptance of these proposals”, he said, adding: “My impression is that we shall reach a solution on which Russia will not place its veto”. More generally, “we wish to accompany developments being made and we shall spare no effort to show that we are keen on the possibility of Serbia having European prospects”, Steinmeier went on to stress, saying that an EU troika, first of all at the level of political leaders then, as needs be, at ministerial level, will soon be in Belgrade. He went on to say that “Belgrade will understand the signals” that should incite Tadic and Kostunica to collaborate in favour of the country's stable development.
Middle East. The “Quartet must resume the initiative” as, without the support of the international community, the situation in Israel and Palestine will not evolve. Two months ago, Steinmeier said, he would not have thought reactivating the process would be successful, but “we have been able to gain the support of our partners and the next meeting will be held on 2 February in Washington”, he pointed out. Such a meeting is, of course, “not an end in itself” but its composition “gives a maximum political horizon for tacking the problem”, he added. Addressing Véronique de Keyser (PES, Belgium), Steinmeier assured that he would work to ensure that the discussions result in a European method for settling this kind of conflict, although he could not guarantee the outcome. Regarding the oft-mentioned possibility of a government of national unity, the minister said: “We cannot impose this project from the outside if the parties involved consider they cannot carry it out”. For the stability of the region, it would be a “good thing” as the other option, that of convening new elections, is just as uncertain. In the short term, this would “be a great threat” as “one cannot be certain that the outcome of the ballot will be any different from that one year ago”.
Russia. Asked by Annemie Neyts (ALDE, Belgium) on the increasingly rigid attitude of Russia in the international arena, Mr Steinmeier asked whether there was not a “tendency to respond in too hysterical a way” and whether “an impasse was being created on reasonable aspects of these issues”. He also said that they should not lose sight of their interests, which meant that Russia continued to orientate itself towards Europe.
Lebanon. “Message received” was his response to Angelika Beer (Greens-EFA, Germany), who, two days before the international conference in Paris on Lebanon (see other article), recommended that he ensured aid to the country got to the victims of the bombings. The minister said that he was not candid enough, “to believe that Syria is not playing a non-significant role” in Lebanon and that the country should “stop involving itself in the internal decision making process”.
ENC. Although there are some who believe that there is an imbalance in the southern and eastern parts of the European Neighbourhood Countries, Steinmeier considers, on the contrary, that they have a “relatively balanced” policy (which includes Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine). He simply indicated that in relation to future enlargement prospects, including those for Ukraine, there were difficulties, “but the EU will not become a closed club”. In central Asia, notably Turkmenistan, where elections are planned for choosing a successor to dictator Saparmourat Niyazov, the EU is unable to ignore the fact that there is a chance of supporting democratisation but that with no “democratic structure we cannot hope for the spontaneous emergence of democratic leaders”. He called for them to remain realistic about “our possibilities of influencing the outside world”. (ab)