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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (41325)	9/1/2002 7:02:34 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

We went "eyeball to eyeball," with Europe on the ICC a couple of months ago. Looks like they just "blinked." From the NYT. September 1, 2002 More Nations Said to Back World Court Exemptions By JOHN TAGLIABUE ELSINORE, Denmark, Aug. 31, Several European Union governments are inclined to sign bilateral accords with Washington to exempt Americans from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court, their foreign ministers say. But they gave the European Union informal assurances today that their governments would hold off on any consideration of whether to act unilaterally until further European Union discussions in September. At a two-day informal gathering of European foreign ministers in this Danish port, which ended today, Italy and Britain in particular supported the American effort to forge bilateral agreements to exempt Americans from the court. On Friday, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who also serves as foreign minister, said that each European country "can decide on its own on bilateral agreements," adding that Italy was "inclined" to reach such an accord with the United States. A senior British diplomat said London saw "no fundamental incompatibility" between the court treaty and acceptance of such bilateral accords. But Chris Patten, the European commissioner for external relations, said both countries' ministers agreed in today's discussions not to break European solidarity and act unilaterally. The struggle over the court has complicated trans-Atlantic relations just as Europe is struggling to forge unified positions and gain leverage over any decision by the United States to wage war against Saddam Hussein. It complicates Washington's search for support among its closest allies for possible action against Iraq. The ministers reiterated the European demand that any action against Iraq must be approved by the United Nations Security Council. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany repeated his country's rejection of military action. After the talks, Mr. Fischer said Germany rejected a war to depose Mr. Hussein "on grounds of the high dangerousness and the impossibility to calculate the risks, both over the short and the long term." He said several other ministers supported that view. On Thursday, President Jacques Chirac of France criticized "attempts to legitimize the use of unilateral and pre-emptive use of force" in Iraq, though he did not mention the United States by name. Today, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, merely endorsed the European demand that Iraq allow United Nations weapons inspectors to return without conditions. This month, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell wrote letters to individual European governments asking them to avoid a united stand on the court issue and urging them to sign separate accords with the United States under a treaty clause that, the United States contends, allows the negotiation of immunity for forces on a bilateral basis. European diplomats said they hoped to pursue a compromise at discussions on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in mid-September. The Bush administration fears that Americans, because of their country's global role and reach, could be unfairly singled out in politically motivated prosecutions. It has opposed pressure by the Europeans on candidates for membership in the European Union and NATO not to sign bilateral accords. Romania, Israel, Tajikistan and East Timor have signed accords, and more nations are expected to sign soon. Some European Union nations, most notably Germany, oppose such agreements. A senior German diplomat said that, while possibly legal under the treaty, they were "incompatible with its spirit and sense." France has taken a less pronounced position because it used a provision of the treaty two years ago allowing seven-year exemptions for soldiers serving on United Nations peacekeeping missions. A senior French diplomat said France understood the American position and sought a compromise. The ministers also approved a European plan for the creation of a Palestinian state and empowered the foreign minister of Denmark, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union until December, to discuss it this week in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. nytimes.com