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Not to rival NATO, says France

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS APRIL 30. The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, today rejected accusations that the four-nation summit on European Security in Brussels on Tuesday was an attempt to set up a military alliance that would rival NATO.

Speaking at a press conference in Paris, Mr. de Villepin said: We want to reinforce NATO, not duplicate or rival it. But in order to do that Europe must be sure of its own identity. We need close ties and coordination. Europe must act, must propose new projects. This meeting was open, it tried to propose, not impose.

These proposals have been received with strong criticism both in Europe and in Washington. The Spainsh Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio, writing in the Wall Street Journal described the meeting as a lesson in how not to build consensus.

The Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, known for his hawkish, pro-Washington views said, "If the embryo of an increased military cooperation were to develop in Brussels, I would view it with a very critical eye."

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said Britain and its European partners would not accept, undermining the basic principles of European defence. By that he meant Europe should not stray from the NATO defence umbrella.

Mr. de Villepin tried to soothe these ruffled feathers by suggesting France was not in fact throwing a stone in Europe's tranquil pond. "Europe advances when it acts. We need to act in order to advance," Mr. de Villepin said.

The French Foreign Minister also clarified his Government's position on U.N. sanctions against Iraq.

He said it was for the U.N Security Council to lift sanctions. "This has to be done gradually with a period of transition. It is important in what framework this is achieved. Who will have the use of the resources of Iraq. We must find a mechanism for an international supervision of Iraqi resources and these measures must be decided upon by the U.N Security Council," Mr. de Villepin said.

France's fear

Without saying as much, he fully expressed France's fear that the U.S. would grab hold of Iraq's oil resources once the sanctions were lifted and not merely suspended, as the French have suggested. Mr. de Villepin said it would be absurd to suddenly go from a situation where the international community controlled everything — as in the case of the oil for food programme — to one where the international community had no role to play. .

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