Madam President, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, my group and I believe, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, that the need to see the European Union display its character and show how useful it can be in world affairs has never been so great. The coming period – perhaps the next few days – will certainly provide it with the opportunity to display its determination and ability to face three challenges, in particular, which are posed by this tragic situation. I believe that the first challenge will be for countries to decide to be willing partners of the United States. At yesterday’s debate in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, one of my colleagues spoke of ‘allied but not aligned countries’. This does not mean, of course, that they lack the necessary and legitimate solidarity, particularly in the common fight to seek out, judge and punish those responsible for this act of barbarism or, more generally, to break up the terrorist networks. On the other hand, this means that we must have the courage to make clear to our American counterparts what we are perfectly willing to do and what do not sanction under any circumstances. Yesterday and this morning, Mr Solana quite rightly stressed that it is vital that our fight against terrorism is not perceived by those in the Arab and Muslim world as a war against their civilisation, or even as a crusade, to use one of the most alarming expressions of President Bush. Yesterday, the High Representative for the CFSP already recommended, in the same spirit, that we should be careful, that we should seek to humiliate nobody, avoid any confusion and not create rifts, which would be a huge mistake. I welcome these responsible words. My group hopes that these words will be translated into an outright refusal by the European Union to allow itself to be drawn into wartime thinking, into a trap which would produce more bloodshed and more innocent victims. The second challenge that we must face is directly related to what I have just said. We must avoid creating a division, but also review and revive the Euro-Mediterranean relationship. Now is not the time, in my view, to discuss free-trade zones with our partners of the South-Eastern Mediterranean. We should instead talk about development, political dialogue, how to bring our societies closer and about human dignity. And one of the practical commitments to make in line with this strategic choice is primarily to take concerted action to resolve the Middle East conflict fairly. I appreciate the efforts made by Mr Solana and all the European Union representatives in the region. These efforts are bearing initial fruit but we can all see that this situation is extremely fragile. This is therefore the time to make every endeavour to work not against but in partnership with the United States and other actors, particularly in the region. I believe that the third challenge we face is that of working on a new approach to international security. Does the tragedy of 11 September not illustrate the failure of the way in which the world has been managed since the fall of the Berlin wall? There are so many unresolved conflicts! There are so many powerful but hidden forces at work! There are so many destabilising forces! Pursuing a unilateralist approach is not a response to this deep-rooted evil. We should combat it with genuine cooperation on a global scale which respects the spirit and letter of the United Nations Charter. Taking military action or clamping down with law and order is not the way to respond. We need an ambitious and multi-faceted policy for crisis prevention. Citizens everywhere – in Africa, in the Mediterranean, in Latin America, in Eastern Europe, in the United States itself and often in the Member States – expect to see a revision of world governance. At the moment, Europe, in particular, is being called upon to do this. This is an opportunity to be seized. From this perspective, the coming days could be the moment of truth.

Political group: GUE-NGL