Brussels, 01/09/2008 (Agence Europe) -Although the consensus was relatively easy to reach, according to the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, a few changes to the draft conclusions as we presented on Monday evening (EUROPE 9730) were made to emphasise the fact that the EU will be keeping a very close eye on Russia's scrupulous observation of the six-point plan. Until this plan has been implemented entirely, talks on a new partnership agreement will be shelved, according to the conclusions of the European Council. It is not yet certain that the meeting planned for 15 and 16 September will be postponed, but it will depend on progress noted on 8 September when the French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Moscow and Tbilissi, accompanied by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the High Representative of the EU for CFSP, Javier Solana. This aims to build pressure on Moscow, but in a spirit of dialogue. Other clarifications made to the conclusions (annexed to this bulletin): the need for Europe to step up its efforts on the security and supply of energy (diversification of energy sources and routes of supply), and the considerable reinforcement of Europe's commitment towards Georgia and Ukraine (a specific reference is made to the importance of the forthcoming Ukraine Summit of 9 September).
Europe takes the view that the crisis in Georgia is of an extremely serious nature and intends to "assume its responsibilities", Nicolas Sarkozy told the press. "Over and above the differences in sensibilities which exist as a matter of course between its members, it is a message of very strong unity that Europe is sending out", the President of the European Council told the press after the extraordinary meeting held in Brussels on Monday 1 September. At the previous Extraordinary European Council, which was held in 2003 to discuss the question of Iraq, Europe left disunited and therefore without a voice, but "today it stands united", he announced. United in its call for the six-point plan, "the only document recognised by all sides", to be implemented in its entirety, in the proclamation of the principles which must be the basis of a sustainable solution (Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity) and in its call for the creation of an international body to monitor the situation. He went on to add that "Europe will continue to play a full role in resolving this crisis"- on a political level, by pursuing mediation between the parties and on an economic level, by getting involved in reconstruction efforts in Georgia.
This meeting, the French President stressed, was "not held against Russia, but it is also clear that Russia's behaviour in recent weeks, with a disproportionate military response, the recognition of two breakaway republics and the fact that Russian troops have remained on Georgian territory has led to deeper concerns in Europe". He left the ball in Russia's court, calling upon the country to choose between cooperation and mounting tension. "Europe wants a partnership, but that takes two", stated the French President, who believes that "a return of the spheres of influence is unacceptable, Yalta is over". Mr Barroso said "we are sending out clear messages to Russia, George and the rest of the world", because the EU cannot "carry on as if nothing had happened", borrowing a recent NATO phrase. The Commission therefore intends to review all initiatives between the EU and Russia between now and the forthcoming Summit of 14 November. At this stage, however, meetings to negotiate the partnership and cooperation agreement have been shelved until the withdrawal of Russian troops is complete. When the next meeting, which had been scheduled for 15 and 16 September, will be held will therefore depend on the political assessment which it may be possible to make after 8 September of progress on the ground (in particular, a withdrawal of the troops to their positions prior to 7 August). "If on 8 (September) we have obtained the withdrawal of the Russian troops, this will mean that the EU will have avoided war in a single month", stressed Mr Sarkozy, who stated his intentions. "We want a partnership, but we also want a number of principles to be respected (...) and we wish this to be done by dialogue". He added that "shows of strength, sabre-rattling, sanctions, counter-sanctions are of no use to anybody". For the time being, it is the job of diplomacy to seek a resolution, because "if it works, the EU will have proved its effectiveness and if it does not work, we will meet and take further decisions, but we will need to step things up".
"Europe is united, Europe is the hope and the guarantee of maintaining peace and stability in the area", summed up the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Zapatero. He welcomed the fact that the European Council had "unanimously" supported the initiative of President Sarkozy on behalf of the EU aiming to re-establish peace in Georgia. He reiterated the mandate given to the European troika to verify, "in Moscow on 8 September (...), that the six points of the peace agreement have been implemented in full, specifically in comparison to the situation of the troops" before the conflict broke out in early August. He reiterated the condemnation of the European Council of Russia's acknowledgement of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Mr Zapatero stressed that it is also "important" for the EU to maintain "dialogue" with "Russia as a major player for stability and security in Europe, and also for the economy of all of the Member States of the EU". "Confidence" in the Russian partner can, however, only be fully restored once Russia has fully implemented the peace agreement, he added. When asked about the difference between the situation in Georgia and the situation in Serbia, with the vast majority of Member States recognising Kosovo's independence, the Spanish Prime Minister reiterated the position of his country, which has yet to recognise Kosovo as an independent State: "Spain has always maintained the same position given any situation involving the territorial integrity of the country, which is to defend that territorial integrity and not to acknowledge unilateral declarations or accept acknowledgements of possible situations of independence. This is our position".
"The situation could have sparked a more serious crisis, sending us back in time to the days of the Cold War", said Silvio Berlusconi. "I was afraid of the positions of the countries which lived under the yoke of communism", the Italian prime minister added, referring to "Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgarian and the Czech Republic". He stated that the speeches made by representatives of these Member States indeed reflected their "concern" at living through times which brought back "bad memories of an unfortunate past". Describing himself as "everybody's friend" due to his skills in helping others to agree, Mr Berlusconi referred to his actions aiming to soothe the tempers of the parties to the conflict and to support the actions of the French Presidency. Lastly, Mr Berlusconi stressed the EU's capacity to take a "unanimous" decision on the way forward to seek a solution to the conflict in the Caucasus and on the need to keep a close eye on developments with the situation on the ground.
Did this Summit discuss the future of Abkhazia and South Ossetia? It is too early to reach conclusions on this subject, said Mr Berlusconi. The Italian foreign affairs Minister Franco Frattini said that his French counterpart, Mr Kouchner, intended to include this point on the agenda of the EU/Russia Summit to be held in Nice on 14 November. Stating that Italy was seen as a country with a "well-balanced" position by both the Georgians and the Russians, he added that he was to visit Tbilissi on Wednesday 3 September and Moscow the next day, and that he would report back on his visit to the European Foreign Affairs Ministers later that week in Avignon.
"I feel that we have sent out a signal of unity from Brussels", said the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said that the "six-point plan is a weighty document, which we can and will use as a basis for our subsequent actions". The conclusions of this Summit are, therefore, from the German point of view, the starting point of the journey. "I pleaded in favour of proceeding on a step-by-step basis", the Chancellor told the press, acknowledging that the sixth point of the plan focuses on future political developments and "should not be considered as something that can be resolved overnight". Ms Merkel stressed that negotiations on the PCA had not been suspended, but postponed to a future date which may not necessarily be as far off as is implied. "I believe the fact that we have agreed on a date so close at hand for the President of the European Council to visit Moscow is a good sign in itself", she said. Ms Merkel also voiced optimism regarding the "withdrawal of Russian troops from Poti and Senaki". She stressed that the aid promised by the EU was also destined for South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"It has not been an easy day” because the positions of the Member States were "a long way apart", explained the Polish President Lech Kaczynski (our translation throughout). He added, however, that the results of the Summit were "good" and that the changes made to the draft conclusions prepared by the French Presidency were positive, due, amongst other things, to a reference to "energy policy" and Ukraine. He stated that Poland "was not isolated" in its positions and that the group in which the country was negotiating was not limited to the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) alone, but that it also comprised several others, including "the Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom". "We are on the right tracks", but "a lot depends on what President Sarkozy will negotiate" on his trip to Moscow on 8 September. At the start of the meeting, the Polish delegation presented a "non-paper" summing up its proposals on the EU's contribution to the resolution of the conflict in Georgia. The paper pleaded in favour of humanitarian, financial and technical aid to reconstruction in Georgia, the swift conclusion of the association agreement with the country, the liberalisation of the visa regime and an intensification of the eastern partnership. Welcoming "cooperation" between his government and the President's Cabinet, Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the Summit as having been a "moderate success". We have succeeded in putting together a "unified, reasonable and firm position", he said, particularly stressing the fact that the "conclusions of the Council" have been "improved by the reference to reinforced cooperation with Ukraine". He also welcomed the fact that a considerable number of Member States had reached agreement on the need to step up efforts on the security and supply of energy and on seeking energy sources "independent" from Russian energy resources. With an effort on the part of many Member States, "we have succeeded in avoiding the danger of conclusions which say nothing at all", he noted.
In an article published in the British daily newspaper The Observer the day before the meeting, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for a "root and branch" revision of EU-Russia relations. Without going so far as to call for sanctions, the British government indicated that it feared these less than certain other Member States. Foreign Secretary David Miliband stated in the press over the weekend that Russian industry, particularly the gas industry, needed European consumers as much as European consumers needed it. Does this mean that the conclusions of Monday's Council were a bit lacking in severity for British tastes? Not at all, insisted a spokesperson for the British representation in Brussels: although Mr Brown did not have time to speak to the press before catching his flight, he wishes to make it clear that he is delighted with the results of the meeting. In particular, the spokesperson hinted that it was further to pressure brought by Prime Minister Brown that the Council decided to postpone negotiations on the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The next discussions on this dossier were scheduled for 15 and 16 September, but have been put on ice "until such time as troops have withdrawn to their positions previous to 7 August". In addition, the unequivocal condemnation of Russia's actions very much subscribes to Britain's way of thinking. "For us, it's a good result from this Summit", said a diplomat, who neither confirmed nor denied that London may wish to see Europe's position tightened up even further. "At this stage, I can only say that it's a good result for today", he repeated.
Estonia also voiced satisfaction with the compromise reached. "The document adopted is a fairly good document", the Estonian Prime Minister, Andrus Ansip, told the press. "The unity of the EU is important for us. I would not wish to draw attention to the differences of opinion", particularly as "we have been able to reach consensus", he stressed. He welcomed the fact that the EU had decided to reinforce its presence on the ground. "Georgia yesterday (Sunday 31 August) called on the European Commission to carry out an analysis of what really happened" he said, voicing his hopes that the European personnel would have access to the whole of the Georgian territory.
The delegation from Cyprus was also pleased with the results. "We are not calling for sanctions", a spokesperson stressed. "If you have a dialogue, you can keep a more constructive attitude", she stressed. Cyprus however stresses the need for the "respect and protection of the territorial integrity of states", the country's foreign minister, Markos Kyprianou, added. (A.B./M.B./A.By/C.D./trans.fl)