Brussels, 22/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - Presenting the priorities of the upcoming Swedish EU Presidency to the press, in Brussels on 22 June, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt took stock of several dossiers in the field of external relations, including:
Iran. The Iranian authorities must “ensure that all Iranians are granted the right to assemble and to express themselves peacefully” and the use of deadly violence against peaceful demonstrators cannot be tolerated in any country, Mr Bildt said. He called on Teheran to clarify certain points that “obviously” need to be cleared up on the results of the recent elections. On Friday 19 June, the European Council called on the Iranian authorities to ensure that the right of all Iranians to assemble and express their views peacefully be guaranteed, and that no force be used against peaceful protestors (EUROPE 9925). On Sunday 21 June, the Iranian government convened ambassadors and representatives of EU member states to express its discontent. “The message (from the summit) was intended to be heard in Teheran. If the ambassadors are convened, I believe this is a sign that the message was heard, and from that point of view it is good”, Mr Bildt commented.
Iceland. Bildt expects the Icelandic parliament and government to decide to submit a request for accession to the EU before the end of the year. Were this to be the case, the candidacy would be assessed on its “own merits”, recognising that a large part of the acquis communautaire is already being applied, with Iceland being a member of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EU, if Iceland became a member, could play a greater role in the Arctic region, Bildt said.
Ukraine. Negotiations on the Association Agreement and a free-trade area will be pursued, with the aim of concluding them, if possible, by the end of the year. “It is an ambitious, but not entirely unrealistic target” which, at this time of particularly serious economic crisis in Ukraine, will send a “very positive signal”, Bildt said. Speaking about the tensions between Moscow and Kiev over payment of gas supplies, he said he felt that this was a “bilateral dispute” which had to be resolved by the two countries involved. At any rate, he added, the EU did not have the means to come to the assistance of Ukraine.
Russia. The Swedish Presidency will try to make progress in negotiations on the new Partnership Agreement and hoped, too, to obtain “clarification” of Russian intentions on WTO accession. The messages from Moscow on this issue have been somewhat “contradictory” recently.
Serbia. The issue of the Dutch veto on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement will, clearly, be of concern to the Council during the Swedish Presidency, but it was too early to say whether there will be any developments before the end of the year, Bildt said. He opined that Serbian cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had “substantially improved”.
FYROM. Following the next progress report from the Commission (expected in the autumn), the Council will consider whether the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, an applicant country since 2005, has meet the benchmarks so that accession negotiations can perhaps begin. For the moment, it is “much too soon” to know whether December's European Council will be in a position to give the go-ahead to talks. The dispute with Greece over the use of the name “Macedonia” was a “bilateral problem” to be resolved by the two countries, Bildt said. “We can't and we don't want to impose solutions on anyone,” he added.
Turkey. The Swedish Presidency will do all it can to make progress in accession negotiations, but it is too soon to say how many chapters will be opened.
Cyprus. The successful reunification of Cyprus would be an historic event and could significantly help Turkey's accession negotiations with the EU, “but this process (supervised by the UN) is not in the hands of the EU,” Bildt said, hailing the “courage” of Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mehmet Ali Talat.
Golf states/South Korea. The Swedish Presidency hopes and aims to conclude free-trade talks with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and also with South Korea. (H.B./transl.jl/rt)