Today's Date:

THE MINISTER – (...) Firstly, Europe's enlargement fulfilled an absolute necessity: we had to erase the scissions and barriers of history. So it's a re-united family which, today, gives Europe a new window of opportunity.

So this, I believe, is our starting point. It's the return to a situation where peoples, countries, governments who share the same values, the same view of the world, come together.

Obviously, throughout these past decades, we've each had our own history. So we each have our own legacy, our own way of looking at things, our own constraints, which can explain some of the difficulties we can encounter on the path leading to this European Union.

I believe that, here again, these differences, which can be seen as difficulties, are in fact strengths. Europe is a totally original enterprise. There's no other example of any such enterprise elsewhere in the world having an ambition resembling that of Europe. Because Europe is not only a union of peoples, States and citizens who want together to build the same house and live together, but, at the same time, a union enriched by its diversity of cultures, histories, sensitivities. I believe we must keep in mind these two strengths: unity and diversity. This requires us first to be aware of what it means to live together in this way.

We began in particularly difficult circumstances. The baptism of this enlarged Europe has been difficult because the international economic situation was difficult. Iraq was an ordeal for the whole of this Europe and, admittedly, in this "Iraq period" we had to find within ourselves the ability to transcend the divisions, splits which existed between some of us, and I think that the Iraq crisis makes us stronger. We can see, because of the difficulties, what Europe's ambition has to be. Europe is a link between several worlds, several cultures, several geographical entities. We obviously have, and you have said this, extremely close ties with the United States, and France is a country which is convinced of the necessity of a strong transatlantic link. But to our mind there's no competition, or rivalry between Europe and transatlantic relations. One can be European and Atlanticist. But, for us, being European also means all Europe's States, all Europe's peoples being capable of giving themselves the means to assert their European identity not only at the political, economic and cultural levels (...), but at the military one too. By that I don't mean that the European defence project we're working on – and you know the initiatives which Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Germany took at their quadripartite summit at the end of April – signifies any conflict between this European defence and NATO. Indeed, on the contrary, we think that they are complementary. We think that if Europe doesn't have a security and defence policy it won't be complete.

Things are difficult because we need to invent, devise a path, but we are convinced that today there is a real will. I see this in the dialogue we – Germans, French and British – are able to have today, in the initiatives which we can take jointly. This was the case in Iran and I also see it in what we can do all together in the Balkans. (...) We have joint commitments in external theatres. I see it in what the Europeans were able to do in Congo, in Ituri, that shows that we have a shared awareness of both the threats and our ambition.

I believe we have to do a great deal of work and we have asked Javier Solana to develop a security concept for Europe. This is the beginning of the Europeans' common awareness. In the security sphere we shall obviously have to go on moving forward, but I am convinced that we all have the same goal, which is to make this Europe not just a beacon of prosperity and peace, but also to make it serve a European ambition allowing us to be more active on the world stage. (...)

THE MINISTER – I think that you have clearly described the challenge today facing Europe. We must together take initiatives. This is what motivates the Franco-German tandem: the need to work together for the benefit of Europe, not to upset, wound or tilt the balance of power in our favour. The problem is that a fifteen-member Europe, and to an even greater extent a twenty-five member Europe, needs to be a force for initiative. In this Europe, everyone has abilities. We must be able to deploy these to create and develop initiatives. I have been struck by this in my conversations with both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister: you yourselves have experience, know-how which is extremely valuable for Europe, your proximity to and knowledge of the Balkans. A country like Slovenia can help us formalize a better policy vis-à-vis that region, an ambitious way forward for bringing that region into the European Union. This is obviously extremely important. The Franco-German tandem has no other mission. It may, in some quarters, get on people's nerves and offend some sensibilities, but it has no aim other than to help initiate and develop proposals for Europe. I believe it is very important for all the European countries to try and move forward together in the same direction on defence. Here too, it's a good example. Germany, France and the United Kingdom, the initiatives you mentioned on Iran show that what we really need to do is find a blueprint at the Intergovernmental Conference.

Frameworks, structures can be found for these spheres of cooperation, in confidence, and this is why we think these initiatives must be made open ones, i.e. that the countries which want to participate in specific initiatives must be able to do so. And what these countries do must be transparent, i.e. everyone must be informed about what is happening inside Europe. But, with twenty-five members, we need a certain degree of flexibility. This isn't about creating a multi-speed Europe, but it can create a process, lead to emulation. I think that the real danger for our European family today would be for the twenty-five member Europe to stop wanting, stop having projects, quite simply because it is looking inward, taking too long to digest its enlargement. I think that Europe is great only when it is pursuing an ambition. If we contribute to Balkan stability, if we contribute to peace in the Middle East, or effective cooperation with Africa, we are true Europeans. If we huddle up fearfully behind our borders, then we exacerbate the fears, anxieties, frustrations and jealousies.

(...)

THE MINISTER – That's obviously a very difficult question because there is here a twin ambition which has to be addressed. First of all we have to be capable, still more capable, of clarifying, vis-à-vis Europe's neighbours and, first and foremost, the Balkans, our will to move forward with them and help them move forward and closer to the European Union.

The Thessalonikí summit agenda clearly signalled our determination to contribute to the region's development at the economic level. But you are right, we must not stop there, but continue our action, at the strategic level, security level. Your commitment, our commitment – we have nearly 5,000 soldiers currently deployed in the Balkans – clearly marks the need to pursue our action, or even try ever harder to be more effective.

You talk about the idea of a rapid action force which is a European defence project. It's also one on which we're liaising with NATO. We must try constantly to avoid doing anything which could lead to duplication and thus waste in our military effort. So, militarily, the creation of such a force, the possibility of deploying it very rapidly beyond our borders would serve as a lever for Europe and boost Europe's credibility. That must lead us – and this is one of the things being discussed today in European defence quarters – to the establishment of a capabilities agency, i.e. one allowing us to formalize the way these different armed forces work together. This also means having a planning cell, since we have to be able to plan military action. It must also allow us to think about the possibility of having a headquarters which should be able to formalize this mission and European will. This is obviously a long-term task and I think that what we are doing at the moment is a move in this direction. I think it will substantially strengthen Europe's credibility, capability and responsibility./.