Today's Date:

Daily Press Briefing

Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson


(Paris, March 14, 2001)

[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]

• BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
• CLIMATE / UNITED STATES
• FRANCE / GERMANY

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

(Aren't you worried that Bosnia-Herzegovina is going to break up as a result of the resurgence of nationalist tensions among the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina?)

Mr. Védrine was just in Sarajevo on March 9 and 10 and during his visit met the principal leaders in the country, in particular the leaders of the Alliance for Change whom he urged to give fresh impetus to the necessary reforms. This process has to be applied to:

- the modernization of the economy of Bosnia-Herzegovina;

- the coexistence of the communities;

- the application of the Dayton/Paris accords.

The minister noted the extent to which nationalist forces are still present in the entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina and are at the helm of the economy. That is the reason the international community, and especially the European Union, must strive as a matter of priority to encourage everything that will take the reforms forward in Bosnia-Herzegovina, particularly those reforms applying to the modernization and openness of the country's economy.

CLIMATE / UNITED STATES

(President Bush reneged on an electoral promise Tuesday by refusing to impose mandatory reduction targets on power companies for carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). What's your reaction?)

I'd like to recall that the G8 member states, at their meeting in Trieste on March 2-4, committed themselves to trying to obtain an agreement in the negotiations on implementing the Kyoto Protocol; these negotiations are to resume again from July 1-27 after the failure of the conference in the Hague last November because of differences among the developed countries.

The Fifteen also reaffirmed at the environment ministers council on March 8 their determination to get the Kyoto Protocol implemented quickly, to which the U.S. is a signatory.

The work of the Intergovernmental Group on Climate Change (IGCC) confirms the urgency of swift action to address climate changes which we hope the U.S. will be fully involved in.

FRANCE / GERMANY

Hubert Védrine, Jean Glavany and their German colleagues, Joschka Fischer and Renate Kuenast, yesterday began their joint study of the CAP. The meeting revealed the remarkable degree of convergence in identifying the problems and challenges we face in promoting high quality agriculture and food safety in the context of the Berlin agreements. This is a central question in our bilateral relations and for the European Union.

The meeting is part of the process of redefining Franco-German relations, launched at Blaesheim on January 31 by the heads of state and government. They asked Hubert Védrine and Joschka Fischer to review questions important to the Franco-German relationship along with European issues, of which the common agricultural policy is one, in order to build convergence wherever possible.

The two foreign ministers will report on the results of the work since January 31 at the next meeting in Herxheim, on March 20, which will be attended by the chancellor and the French president and prime minister./.

Embassy of France, March 14, 2001