By Michel Barnier
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier met with Washington Post editors and reporters on Monday. Following are excerpts of his remarks :
On European negotiations with Iran: We are going into this with our eyes wide open. It's a fragile, difficult negotiation for France. My sense is the political and diplomatic option that we have pursued is better than all other alternative options. . . . Our main purpose is to get an objective guarantee that the Iranian nuclear program will be exclusively focused on and destined to civilian use. But we haven't gotten there yet. And we need to take whatever time is necessary. As long as there is no setback then in a sense we are moving forward. Whatever the language, whatever the so-called threats, for the time being we are moving ahead.
On France's upcoming referendum on the European constitution: I'm not working or even thinking along the lines of there being a "no" vote on the constitution. I really don't believe it. At the end of the line, if you don't have 25 ratifications, there will be no constitution. . . . Europe's reunification, Europe's enlargement is a fragile process. If we do not have strong rules that we can abide by, it will make it all the more fragile. In terms of judicial cooperation, the fight against terrorism, in terms of foreign policy, research, we need these new rules of the game so that the 25 can function smoothly all the time. But there isn't an alternative plan in the event of a "no."
There have been two guiding principles in Europe over the last 50 years. One is a huge free-trade zone, which is a more Anglo-Saxon approach. And then the idea that in addition to that, we'd be a real community with a real voice counting on the international scene. We do feel that Europe must count as an entity, because not one of our countries alone, singly, has the kind of clout, has the kind of strength that the United States has or that China has. And it is in the interest of the United States to have in Europe a political structure that has clout, that is capable, that is able because you can't go it alone. You can't win peace alone. Poverty will be overcome only if we work together. [The war on] terrorism will only be won if we work together.
On intervention in Darfur: Our position or attitude is that we be very responsive, speedily responsive to any requests coming in from the African Union. . . . They need the logistics, they need the planning, the transport, the sanitation, the health care. We have to be ready for that. Is it NATO, is it the European Union? We've got to come up with a speedy and pragmatic response to that. . . . And we will endorse practical solutions. And we need to do more.
On ending the embargo on European arms sales to China: I am aware of the sensitiveness of the question of the embargo here in the U.S. That's a question we see as a political one. It has no quantitative or qualitative impact on arms exports to China. In fact, we tightly control any such exports. . . . I will tell you frankly, the purpose is not to beef up or step up military trade with China, but simply to lift a measure that we consider to be an anachronism in this day and age vis-à-vis that particular country.