|
Sarkozy in drive to give EU
global role
John Thornhill
Financial
Times
Tuesday Aug 28, 2007
France will press for a bolder European Union security strategy
when it assumes the rotating presidency next year, aiming to turn
the continent into a global power with a decisive role in promoting
a more just and effective world order.
In his first major foreign policy speech as France’s president,
Nicolas Sarkozy described the EU as a model of effective multilateralism
that boasted a full range of instruments to address international
crises, including military force, humanitarian assistance and
financial aid. “Europe must progressively affirm itself
as a first-rank player for peace and security, in co-operation
with the United Nations, the Atlantic alliance and the African
Union,” he said.
Addressing top French diplomats, Mr Sarkozy identified three
main global challenges: to prevent an ideological confrontation
between Islam and the west; to accommodate emerging powers such
as China, India and Brazil; and to combat dangers such as global
warming, pandemics and competition for energy supplies.
(Article continues below)
Mr Sarkozy said nation states, which were still at the heart
of the global order, were not well- suited to dealing with such
challenges. Their capacity for action was constrained by financial
interests, media influence, criminal networks and terrorists.
Unilateral force, as used by the US in Iraq, led to failure,
while some multilateral institutions, such as the UN or Nato,
were also struggling to prove their effectiveness in Darfur and
Afghanistan.
“[Europe] alone has accumulated, during the long process
of building the community, the practical experience of a shared
sovereignty that corresponds well to the demands of our times,”
he said.
“The construction of Europe will remain the absolute priority
of our foreign policy,” he added. “France is not strong
without Europe, just as Europe is not strong without France.”
He said Europe had to develop a common vision of the main challenges
facing it and how best to respond to them. But first
it needed to improve its conduct of joint military operations
and rationalise its arms procurement policies. Although Europe
should be allied to the US, its interests would not always be
aligned, he added.
Mr Sarkozy had tough words on Russia, which he accused of exhibiting
a “certain brutality” in using its energy assets.
“When one is a great power, one should not be brutal,”
Mr Sarkozy said.
He repeated his objections to full Turkish membership of the
EU but supported talks with Ankara providing they did not presuppose
accession.
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
