EU needs military arm to be taken seriously by US: Belgian FM
BRUSSELS (AFP) Nov 23, 2003
The European Union must have an independent military arm if it wants to be taken seriously by the United States as well as to combat terrorism, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said Sunday.
The US government has reacted suspiciously to plans by four EU countries that opposed the war in Iraq -- Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg -- to set up a military planning headquarters for the bloc.
Washington fears the drive to bolster the EU's military presence could rival NATO, the bedrock of the transatlantic defence alliance.
But Michel, speaking during a political talk-show on RTBF television, said there were broader issues at stake.
"As long as the European Union lacks an autonomous military capacity to be a major global actor alongside the United States, and to bring about... a real and permanently influential political dialogue with the United States, we will not be able to properly respond to the big questions of this challenge, notably terrorism," he said.
Following talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brussels on Tuesday, Michel said Belgium and the United States had buried the hatchet after months of diplomatic tensions caused by the Iraq war.
The Belgian foreign minister reiterated on RTBF the necessity of "remodelling" transatlantic relations, declaring he was "a very strong supporter of a strategic partnership with the United States".
BRUSSELS (AFP) Nov 23, 2003
The European Union must have an independent military arm if it wants to be taken seriously by the United States as well as to combat terrorism, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said Sunday.
The US government has reacted suspiciously to plans by four EU countries that opposed the war in Iraq -- Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg -- to set up a military planning headquarters for the bloc.
Washington fears the drive to bolster the EU's military presence could rival NATO, the bedrock of the transatlantic defence alliance.
But Michel, speaking during a political talk-show on RTBF television, said there were broader issues at stake.
"As long as the European Union lacks an autonomous military capacity to be a major global actor alongside the United States, and to bring about... a real and permanently influential political dialogue with the United States, we will not be able to properly respond to the big questions of this challenge, notably terrorism," he said.
Following talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brussels on Tuesday, Michel said Belgium and the United States had buried the hatchet after months of diplomatic tensions caused by the Iraq war.
The Belgian foreign minister reiterated on RTBF the necessity of "remodelling" transatlantic relations, declaring he was "a very strong supporter of a strategic partnership with the United States".
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