Today's Date:

Interview given by Michel Barnier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to “Radio France Internationale” (excerpts)

Paris, May 19, 2005

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EU FOREIGN MINISTER

THE MINISTER – Obviously!

THE MINISTER – Quite obviously it will be stronger because, on a number of issues, we’ll speak with one voice. And we won’t speak with one voice off the cuff. For the past 15 years we’ve lacked – we saw this with the Yugoslavia tragedy, which no one had anticipated, when we were incapable of preventing a medieval war causing 215,000 deaths in the Balkans, on our own European continent, not to mention the other, more recent division on Iraq – a place where we work together, think about things together, look at the world and analyse situations together. And when there’s a crisis, there’s more likelihood of us agreeing. It’s not automatic, I can’t promise we’ll always agree on everything. Besides, at the end of the day every country keeps its right of veto. But we’ll have somewhere, thanks to this minister, where we’ll work together at building a sort of shared diplomatic culture.

MIDDLE EAST

THE MINISTER – But we are engaged in the Middle East! It's in fact one of the rare issues on which today, because of the experience of our past divisions, we have a common position and policy which Javier Solana is conducting on our behalf. And I think there's an absolute need for us, clearly, unequivocally and determinedly, to be at the side of the Palestinian Authority which is going to prepare this future State, the peace which the Palestinians, alongside the Israelis, need. We must be at their side to guarantee their security and encourage the Israelis to make a success of this first important stage, the withdrawal from Gaza. Yes, we are active there! When I saw President Bush in Washington a fortnight ago, I repeated my conviction that peace in the Middle East was on top of the US-Europe agenda. We have to help Israelis and Palestinians make peace and give ourselves the means to support it.

TOGO

THE MINISTER – I was questioned the morning after that election, I didn't give a view on the result which I didn't know. I gave a view, at the time, on the conduct of the poll. A lot of Togolese had gone to vote, and I didn't say anything else. I even said, word for word, what ECOWAS and President Obasanjo, who is mediating very constructively and effectively, and the United Nations Secretary-General had said. The election took place. Now what we want, in support of the African Union, of ECOWAS, is indeed the formation of a government of national unity in Togo. This is the idea the African leaders have advocated from the outset. And in Togo, I repeat, there was no French interference in the poll, nor will there be any now or in the future. We are supporting ECOWAS and we'll help the Togolese people, our friends, to rebuild and build. We shall do so in the framework of the African Union, by supporting it. And we shall do so with this new approach, which in a few weeks' time I'm going to explain in Africa, that of a genuine partnership, with a European Union which respects the Africans and seeks to be a partner in their development.

COTE D'IVOIRE

THE MINISTER – We are engaged in, and only in, the United Nations framework, alongside the African Union in the task of restoring peace. Our soldiers in Africa and in particular Côte d'Ivoire, who are doing a tremendous job, are there to promote peace in the framework of a United Nations mission. And indeed in Côte d'Ivoire, we are supporting the African mediation, which was very skilfully conducted by President Thabo Mbeki. Now things are back to normal. Progressively, President Gbagbo has taken the right decision to open up the presidential election. The disarmament of the militia is scheduled to start. And we hope that, through elections and democracy, Côte d'Ivoire – her people are and will remain our friends – is going to put the crisis behind her.

THE MINISTER – The French troops are there in, and only in, the framework of a United Nations mandate and mission./.