EU ministers approve watered-down demand for Lebanon ceasefire

Britain and Germany reject initial Finnish proposal; Tuomioja denies divisions

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An extraordinary meeting of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) was convened by EU President Finland in Brussels on Tuesday to assess the situation in Lebanon and to discuss further EU action. The meeting was chaired by Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP).
     
After rejecting Finland's draft statement, which would have urged an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the EU foreign ministers eventually reached a decision to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Lebanon to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire.
      At a press conference, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja stressed that despite the watering down of Finland's initial proposal, the conclusions were unanimous and that the wording of the statement was irrelevant. The most important thing was to urge that no weapons are to be fired. Tuomioja sees the foreign ministers' meeting as an indication of EU unity. "Intense discussions, but no disunity", he said.
     
Even Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, was satisfied with the statement of the foreign ministers. He argued that the message sent by the EU is in line with what is expected from the UN Security Council.
      In addition to the statement, the EU foreign ministers' meeting was supposed to be a signal for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to finish up its resolution on the Lebanon crisis soon.
     
On the international level, the end of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah movement is seen to be mainly in the hands of the United States and the United Nations.
      A major aim of the meeting was to send a message to Washington and New York that a resolution from the Security Council is urgently needed. Solana said that he expects the body to meet by the end of the week. Three weeks after the hostilities in Lebanon began, the UN has still not managed to come up with a resolution, because of the differences among member states over issues, including the status of Hezbollah. Israel's main supporter, the United States, sees Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.
      In Brussels, the EU foreign ministers made a point of denouncing both the rocket attacks of Hezbollah and the deaths of civilians in the Israeli air strike against Qana.
     
While the EU foreign ministers were arguing about the wording of their statement in Brussels, the hostilities continued in the Middle East following a speech by Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who made it quite clear that there would be no ceasefire in the coming days.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tuomioja: EU countries prepare for Lebanon peacekeeping force (1.8.2006)

Links:
  Finland´s EU Presidency
  General Affairs & External Relations Council (GAERC)
  Homepage of Javier Solana

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