No.27. (17/10/03)

FUTURE OF EUROPE
Speech by Dominique de Villepin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the Austrian National Assembly
Vienna, September 30, 2003

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, and more recently the 11 September terrorist attacks, we witnessed the end of a world. We are now in search of a new coherence. We must understand the new stakes involved and the new threats we have to confront.

TERRORISM/INTERNATIONAL CRISES

Today, the terrorist attacks and violence have rendered the world vulnerable. You just have to list them - Jakarta, Baghdad, Casablanca, Jerusalem - to see that whenever terrorism strikes it spreads suffering and fear. Dealing with the wounds it inflicts is clearly our main challenge today. Damaging world security, it blindly attacks not only innocent civilians but also institutions like the UN, despite the fact that these embody the values which should unite the international community. The terrorist threat is all the more dangerous because it takes advantage of a still-gestatory world order. Using all the possibilities of a now global world, exploiting the most modern technology, terrorism has been able to make good use of the world's accelerating modernization. Pen knives, Stanley knives, the most sophisticated technology, it employs them all. It knows, too, how to exploit weaknesses in the international system: regional crises, wounded and impoverished peoples, zones where no law applies, illegal trafficking - these are all breeding grounds where terrorism takes root and thrives. More serious still, with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, it could greatly increase its capacity for harm.

In this uncertain world, we are witnessing the emergence of new challenges. An aspiration for the acknowledgement of identity, demands for cultural recognition, and religious fundamentalism are today being forcefully, and at times even violently, asserted. In the Balkans and Africa, we have seen the resurgence of inter-ethnic conflicts. The crises which are tearing the Arab-Muslim world apart are revealing the impact of these new components of international strategy. Let's be clear-headed about this: today's world can no longer be controlled by the force of arms alone. We are seeing a veritable revolution in the attributes of power, which now transcend a country's economic, demographic, military and technological weight. Given this, we all realize the extent to which the confrontation between cultures, religions and civilizations is today one of the most difficult risks we have to confront. It is clearly the fundamental challenge looming behind the current crises, beginning with those in Iraq and the Middle East. In both, the sovereignty of the peoples concerned is one of the crucial requirements for a return to peace and stability. It's the case in Iraq, where we can't hope to mobilize the people to combat the violence and work for the reconstruction without giving them back genuine control of their future. The same applies in the Middle East, where the affirmation of a responsible Palestinian State, a partner of Israel, is clearly the key to a lasting peace.

Who knows better than Europe, who knows better than our countries, the importance of identities and cultures? Confronted with these dangers, we must be certain of one thing: their urgency; and have one conviction: the need to act. Our world can no longer prevaricate. We can no longer go our different ways, we must take our world in hand, put new frameworks in place, start off on a new footing. By waiting too long for uncertain diplomatic solutions, it daily risks getting ever more deeply mired in the conflicts which undermine and severely weaken its cohesion. We must, all together, wake up to the dangers of our world so as to be able to provide it with the necessary remedies.

MULTILATERALISM

And how can we do this without the unity of our international community, which affords the only real way of coping with a globalized universe in which every conflict in one part of the world immediately impacts on the rest of the planet? So it's the requirement for unity which must motivate everything we do - as must our concern to defend the principles and values which we have to make our top priorities: firstly, justice for and solidarity with the peoples suffering from poverty or violence; secondly, dialogue and respect for the Other because none of our cultures, our religions or our civilizations can possibly set themselves up as being above the others; finally, the defence of the law and a code of ethics without which our initiatives will not be accepted. We must promote this necessary unity of the international community because it alone can confer on our actions their full legitimacy and thereby ensure their genuine efficacy.

In the face of the threats surrounding us, how can we not be aware of this urgent need to restore a strong, dynamic and multilateral order capable of tackling the world's crises? In Iraq, the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Balkans, it is multilateralism which will bring us the long-term solutions capable of restoring stability and prosperity. It is possible to win a war on your own; on our own none of us will restore peace. Only if our countries are united shall we be able to fight and defeat terrorism, proliferation and the development of criminal rings; there is no alternative. This conviction of my country, our commitment to multilateralism, is not being sustained by any desire to criticize or for systemic opposition to our American friends and allies, as some observers often wrongly repeat; this conviction is prompted by a clear-sighted analysis of our world. Let's be aware that the realities of the globalized society in which we live no longer allow us the freedom to act alone without running the risk of failure or impasse. When France talks about a multipolar world, she is simply recognizing an existing situation, a de facto situation: the negotiations recently conducted in Cancún clearly highlighted the emergence of several regional powers intent on defending their interests and their rights. We saw this with the group of 22 countries led by India, Brazil and South Africa. Given this reality, it is our responsibility to move simultaneously towards a genuine world democracy in order to give everyone their place in the international order, and towards a multilateral system, alone capable of establishing cooperative relations between every State and every region in the world.

EUROPE/HUMAN RIGHTS/IGC/DIALOGUE OF CULTURES

In this vulnerable and uncertain world, the European Union can and must develop its own responses. Of this France is convinced. First of all, because Europe is a pole of stability, a pole of peace. It is duty-bound to project this stability beyond its borders. With the Balkan War, it realized that it had to take action to prevent the massacres which were being perpetrated on its doorstep. In Kosovo, and also in Macedonia, Europe is today playing an essential role in the stabilization of this region whose wounds have still not healed. It is committed to work for reconciliation which, alone, will create the conditions for peace between the peoples and the prospect of a better future. Secondly, we have to shoulder our responsibilities, because Europe, the cradle of human rights, cannot be seen as indifferent to oppression. Together we have renewed our commitment to honour the universal values by giving ourselves a European Charter for Human Rights. Together, we want to ensure the success of the International Criminal Court. But we must go still further and forge, particularly at the UN, instruments which will enable the world to make headway towards greater justice and greater freedom.

Finally, it is right for Europe to work to restore the dialogue of cultures, the link between several continents, several religions, several histories. It has to become this mediator who, alone, can facilitate understanding between peoples, a task in which France is well-versed, she who, thanks to her history, has forged close and almost flesh and blood ties with Africa. Together with Mediterranean Europe, we must build many more bridges between the two banks, keeping up the tradition of sharing and trade which, over the centuries, has enriched our two worlds.

EUROPE/POLITICAL UNITY/ENLARGEMENT/IGC/FOREIGN POLICY

Driven by its convictions, Europe must now move forward on the path of political unity. It must first make a success of the current stage of enlargement. In a twenty-five member Europe, we must give ourselves simpler and more efficient institutions. This is the whole purpose of the draft Constitution drawn up by the Convention chaired by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The debate which is going to open in the next few days with the launch of the Intergovernmental Council will, of course, be a decisive one for all of us. We must approach it in a spirit of mutual confidence and responsibility if we want to maintain the balance resulting from the Convention's work. We can, I am convinced, agree on the need to give our European institutions the transparency and flexibility they require to be recognized and accepted by our citizens. Inside the EU, there's no place for opposition between "big" and "small" countries. So I remain persuaded that together we shall be able to find the way to an agreement which will give the European Union the solid, democratic institutions it needs.

Finally, let us affirm our presence on the international stage with two main objectives. First of all, by giving ourselves a genuine European foreign policy. This is the whole purpose of the proposals contained in the draft Constitution which provide, among other things, for the appointment of a foreign minister accountable before [the European] Parliament and the Commission. This innovation satisfies a triple necessity: to facilitate our relations with our partners in the international community, improve the transparency of our foreign policy, and increase the coherence of our action in the world.

EUROPEAN DEFENCE/UK/US

Secondly, we must encourage the development of a genuine European defence policy. As we see every day, the proliferation of regional crises demands a greater commitment on the part of our Union. Present in Afghanistan and in the Balkans with our American friends, Europe reached a milestone with the autonomous military operation it launched in central Africa, in the province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We must establish a capability enabling us to act together which is commensurate with the demands of today's world. By pooling its forces, Europe will be able to respond to crises; by mobilizing its civilian capabilities it will be able to help prevent conflicts and maintain peace. We want to share this ambition with all the States: the proposals put forward by Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France in spring this year are, of course, open to everyone. It is an ambition we are keen to realize with the United Kingdom: since the Saint-Malo summit, Britain has played an essential role in building Defence Europe; with her, we want today to give decisive fresh impetus to European defence, and our recent talks on this subject confirm this shared will.

EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

But it's also with the whole international community that Europe must take up the challenge of peace. Firstly, within the transatlantic relationship, it wants to be a reliable partner shouldering its responsibilities. A Europe bearing greater responsibility will at last be able to share the risks of any global commitment. Between Europe and the United States, there may be differences of view, misunderstandings. There's nothing surprising in that: our common history has developed slowly towards what are often different political, economic or social realities; our two visions of the world do not always coincide. Does this have to be a cause for concern? I don't think so; going beyond that diversity, we know how to come together around the same community of values, to defend the principles of democracy and human rights. That's clearly the essential fact which has to unite us, transcending our differences.

Secondly, with the other major poles, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe wants to establish genuine cooperation, contributing its know-how, its capabilities and, above all, by heeding their concerns. We must encourage the process of coming together at regional level at work in the world, because it is helping promote stability and democratization. The regional organizations have both responsibility and legitimacy since their remit includes settling regional conflicts. We have seen this with the contribution of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, to the quest for a political solution in Côte d'Ivoire, and the pacification of Liberia a few weeks ago.

Finally, in the multilateral fora, Europe must support the strengthening and modernization of the institutions so that they can deal cogently with the new global challenges. Have we not learned, over our fifty years of political existence, that consultation and dialogue is the best way to find effective solutions acceptable to all? Today it is beyond the capacity of the States to resolve problems in a growing number of spheres - the environment, economic growth and security. Faced with these major challenges, let us pool our efforts and think together about the reforms we could encourage, especially in the United Nations framework, whether as regards broadening the composition of the Security Council, setting up new bodies to promote genuine governance of the world economy, securing genuine public recognition of the need for sustainable development or strengthening the instruments at the international community's disposal for the defence of human rights and the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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