Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, allow me first of all to congratulate the Greek Presidency on the courage and resolution it displayed during its second summit. In the light of recent events I fear it may yet be called upon to convene further summits. On behalf of my group, I should like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families of all the victims of this war. There must be no more victims. My group therefore believes the war must cease immediately. The United Nations must assume management of the conflict. The latter should never have been taken out of the United Nations framework. (Applause) I also deeply regret the unilateral decision taken by the President of the United States to leave this framework and start a war. I support Mr Annan. Once again, I must emphasise that the present unilateral action is in breach of the United Nations Charter and of international law. On behalf of my group I should like to further reiterate our complete opposition to the doctrine of pre-emptive attack as an instrument of foreign policy. (Applause) I would like to repeat what Mr Cook said in the House of Commons. Multilateral agreements and a world order governed by rules afford better protection to our British and European interests than unilateral instruments. From President Carter to the Pope, countless individuals around the world endorse this view. Mr Poettering quoted Mr Perle, a spokesperson for the armaments industry. Mr Perle is a shameless lobbyist. He wrote an article thanking God for the failure of the UN. Given that so many are swearing by some God’s name or taking it in vain, I should like to seize this opportunity of sending out a timely reminder. There is a fallen angel in both the Bible and the Koran. The fallen angels, who were angels of light, are named Lucifer and Iblis respectively. Their fall was caused by pride and unbridled blind arrogance. That is the very situation we are currently faced with. (Applause) Ladies and gentlemen, no war is a clean war. The doctored images presented to us conceal horror. We are today receiving pictures of that market in Baghdad. You will recall that the European Union evolved from a common market. No doubt you also recall another market, in Sarajevo, and how that was bombed. I hope your consciences are stirred. We are all involved in a conflict which is becoming increasingly horrific. Clearly, large numbers of Iraqis long for a future without Saddam Hussein’s oppressive regime. They wish to enjoy freedom and dignity. Clearly too, they do not wish to have further death and destruction inflicted on them. This action was taken unilaterally, outside the framework of the Security Council. It has resulted in disaster, because very often the local population does not perceive the troops as a liberating force. The people are determined to protect what is theirs, to defend their land. Furthermore, this region is beset by many complex problems. It is most unwise to destabilise it further, and this could impact the Middle East process. Both the President of the Commission and the President-in-Office of the Council have insisted that this crisis and future action must be dealt with within the UN framework. I could not agree more. Indeed, I have said so twice already in this House. I have, however, read today’s newspaper and apparently the management of the port of Umm Qasar has been awarded to a United States company. The latter is offering to subcontract some of the work to European companies. This flies in the face of respect for the UN. Is the European Union to be invited to do subcontract work for the UN? That is not the way forward. I believe we should make our voice heard. We must insist on humanitarian aid being administered in a civilian framework, and furthermore, within the UN framework. Aid must not be administered by any of the powers currently involved. (Applause) I should like to make a final point before I finish and leave the floor to my colleague Mr Goebbels. He will speak on the Spring Council. My point is as follows. We know the President of the United States has already estimated the cost of the war at USD 75 000 million per month. Oil prices and exchange rates are on a roller coaster. President-in-Office of the Council, I very much fear that if this state of affairs continues you will be forced to convene a further summit to assess the European and world economies. In conclusion, Mr President, we have to recognise that public opinion is riven by emotion. It is disconcerted and overwhelmingly opposed to this war. I refer to wider public opinion, not just to European public opinion. The public does not understand the urgency of this war or the reasons for it. There is a world-wide movement for peace. I have in mind Saturday’s demonstration. It falls to us to relaunch the multilateral approach to international relations. The dignity and legitimacy of the United Nations must be restored. It will then be in a position to fulfil its role as a government for the world. The European Union failed to act as one and therefore bears a share of the responsibility for this crisis. We must be able to envisage a future in which the Union can construct a foreign and security policy worthy of the name. This is essential if we are to act honourably in the interest of the future of all humankind. (Applause)

Political group: PSE