EUHR Solana's statement on Iraq and on a regional security arrangement for the region

Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), made today the following statement at the International Ministerial Conference on Iraq, organised in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt:

"Thank you, Mr Chairman, for hosting this meeting, and for getting us all together in support of the stabilisation of Iraq. No one can deny the crucial role the neighbouring countries can play in this regard.

There are several Europeans around this table and that is a clear sign of how important Iraq and Iraq's future is for us. Iraq is not only a strategic issue for the EU. It is much more than that. Iraq is in our neighbourhood. Indeed, Iraq will be a direct neighbour once Turkey joins the EU. Our engagement with Iraq comes from this fact: Iraq is our friend and neighbour.

My colleagues have - and will - mention some of the measures that the EU is carrying out in order to assist Iraq in the current difficult situation. When Prime Minister Allawi visited and met with EU leaders in Brussels several weeks ago we offered him a solid package of concrete proposals to support the process of stabilisation of his country.

Let me turn now to the situation in Iraq. A lot has been said about the security situation, the political process, the reconstruction assistance, the national reconciliation process, the role of the neighbours and the international community at large. Instead of repeating such positions, let me try to focus a little bit on the wider picture. It is important to try to find solutions for today's problems, but we should never forget the need to look ahead for what is needed in the longer term.

We have had enough of wars in this region during the last decades. Many lives have been lost in Iraq, in Iran, in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. We should not forget, but we have to look forward. It must be a priority for us - for those countries, their neighbours, and the international community; all of us assembled here today - to avoid that it happens again. Bilateral relations are now being normalised, but a regional security structure or mechanism in this region is long overdue. We will not have a secure and stable situation in the long term without some kind of regional security arrangement which takes into account the legitimate concerns of all the countries of the region.

Some people will say that this is not realistic, that the timing is not right, etc. I would rather say that it is unthinkable and unacceptable not to try. Will the timing ever be right? I don't think we can afford to wait. And believe you me: I have no illusions that this will be easy, but we have to move in that direction. Clearly, the initiative has to come from the countries concerned. But I can assure you that the EU - and the rest of the international community, I would hope - will be there to assist and support any such initiative coming from the region. The EU considers this to be a priority.

Mr. Chairman, I end on that note. This has been a very useful and well-organised international meeting on Iraq, and I would like to thank my friend Ahmed Aboul Gheit and his colleagues once again for it. At the same time, I would not want us to meet again in a decade or so because we did not try to come up with a proper regional security arrangement. I look forward to pursuing this issue with you later."

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