Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, High Representative, a month ago, in adopting the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Fifteen intended to set themselves out as a community of values. The credibility of such an ambition is not won by texts alone, but by our real-life responses to significant events, by means of strong political actions underpinned by ethical principles, even though this action, quite possibly, costs a great deal to those taking it. True merit is recognised when one’s back is against the wall. The Balkan syndrome, ten years after the Gulf War, is one such significant event. It brings the Fifteen face-to-face with their responsibilities in a spectacular fashion. In my opinion and that of my group, accepting these responsibilities means taking bold decisions in at least three respects. There is, firstly, the human aspect of the problem. People have died, more are suffering, and still more are now living in anxiety and in fear of the future. These people include military personnel and many civilians. The barbarous thing about some types of weapons is that they continue to cause casualties, indiscriminately, after the war. We are clearly faced with a situation of this type in the Balkans. In the past, the international community has done itself credit by prohibiting anti-personnel mines on these grounds. It should now, by the same token, ban weapons containing depleted uranium. (Applause) It is up to the European countries which manufacture them, including Great Britain, Portugal and, unfortunately, my own country, France, to agree to put an end to the manufacture, storage and, of course, the use, even experimentally, of such arms. This would be doing no more than to comply with the principles of the 1980 Geneva Convention, which prohibits weapons with indiscriminate effects. At the same time, all victims must be granted the right to health care, all potential victims must be granted the right to scanning, and all the regions concerned must be granted the right to decontamination and rehabilitation. Is ducking one’s responsibilities by claiming today that the dangerous nature of these arms had not been identified at the time, even though a great many government inquiries and internal reports clearly demonstrated as much, really a serious and fitting attitude? I sincerely feel that this is a rearguard action, out of step in terms of the information now available to our fellow citizens. This brings me to my second point, the democratic challenge which this tragic case poses for us, for there is a long litany of culpable silence, counter-truths and lying by omission in which both NATO and some Member States have indulged as much as possible. Having agreed in the past to act as a sort of intermediary between these parties, Mr Solana, you cannot now be surprised to find that we are asking you to give us some explanations regarding the serious matters which are gradually emerging. There is, as you have said, an undeniable demand for truth regarding past matters and transparency regarding future matters, but, in all honesty, in this respect I do not think that either the Fifteen or NATO can possibly think they have paid their dues after what you have just told us, Mr Solana. (Applause) In the end, we must take this difficult ordeal as an opportunity to reassess our concept of the organisation of European security and relations between the European Union and NATO. In our opinion it is high time that we ceased to allow ourselves, both on the European continent and in the rest of the world, to be dragged into the tragic deadlocks of American strategic options. I am thinking of the horrific effects of the Gulf War on the Iraqi people, particularly the children. I am thinking of the systematic destruction of the economic potential and the ecological heritage not only of Yugoslavia but also of its neighbouring countries – take the Danube, for example – compounded, as we have just seen, by confirmation of the widespread use in this conflict of arms and munitions which, in addition to causing countless innocent casualties in the short term also represent a long-term threat for people coming into contact with the areas which have been bombed. This, Mr Solana, has nothing to do with defending human rights. No, as far as Europe is concerned, the end must not justify the means. I am convinced that, one way or another, these are questions which many people now have in mind. Today is one stage in the process, and it will be followed by other stages. I hope that increasing numbers of us will align ourselves with this move for change. (Applause)

Political group: GUE-NGL