Posted on 11/20/2004 1:23:54 AM PST by Destro
Europe 'should have UN seat'
By Rachel Sylvester
(Filed: 20/11/2004)
The European Union should have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, the new Commissioner for External Affairs has said.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who was confirmed in the post on Thursday, believes that the EU must take a more communal approach in international institutions such as the UN.
"The more we speak with one voice, the better for us and the better for Europe. We are not important if we don't speak with one voice," she said.
The proposal will infuriate Eurosceptics and lead to accusations that the commissioner wants to undermine British sovereignty over foreign policy.
At the moment, there are only five permanent members of the UN Security Council: Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States.
Miss Ferrero-Waldner, a former Austrian foreign minister, said that the creation of an EU seat would give greater representation to smaller member states. She believes that Britain and France would not necessarily have to relinquish their seats if an EU position was created.
In her first interview with a British newspaper since being confirmed as commissioner, Miss Ferrero-Waldner said that the disagreement within the EU over Iraq was regrettable.
Although member states still retain a veto over foreign policy, the commissioner thinks that they should make more effort to reach a common position.
Her comments follow the attempt by Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac to strike a conciliatory tone during the French president's visit to London this week.
The commissioner also called for more co-operation between Europe and America though she said that there are cultural differences with the EU more concerned with life quality.
She believed the re-election of George W Bush provided a chance to take a "fresh look" at relations between Europe and America.
Move the U.N. to Stockholm, Geneva, Timbuktu. Anywhere they want to go, only go.
Democratic nations should make up the UN.
Too many rogue nations have a voice.
The Sudan has a seat on the Human Rights Committee.
Syria is a rogue state ...harbors terrorists.
The voices of the rogue nations seem to be in a majority.
Kofi is the biggest scammer of all.
He has to go...NOW. I do not understand why he is still there.
Yep, all 50 states should have a seat on the Security Council. What do they put in the water over there?
We can give them France's seat. France doesn't deserve a permanent seat.
It is if France has to give theirs up. Remember---France doesn't own Europe (though it thinks it does).
Miss Ferrero-Waldner, a former Austrian foreign minister prostitute, said that the creation of an a EU seat would give greater representation more power to France and Germany smaller member states. She incorrectly believes that Britain and France would not necessarily have to relinquish their seats if an EU position was created.
The U.S. representative responded,
"this will happen when monkeys fly out of my butt!"ahhh, that's better :-)
Oh yeah, and as long as we're reforming the UN, I say that everyone on the Security Council should pay the same amount of dues.
Better yet, let Europe have the UN. We'll give them our Security Council seat, too.
Not to mention that California has GDP bigger than most euro zone countries.
I agree...let them have ours.
I think that EVERY country should have a seat on the Security Council. And every member of that counsel should have a veto over Security Council action. How is that for a solution to the UN problem?
Keep in mind that 3 of the 5 permanent SC seats are 'European'...Russia is a European country as well. Of course if there is a 'European' seat, it should represent all of Europe, no?
Agree. However, since it is the 'security' council, whichever country holds that EU seat, must have a military and be willing to use it as required to promote security in the world ("security" = safety, protection). France has a 'military' (if you want to call it that), but I believe the only place it has used it in recent years is the Ivory Coast. Poland is w us in Iraq, therefore, Poland should hold the EU seat.
And, while they're at it, they should give Japan and/or India a permanent seat.
They will soon discover without our money, or our military the UN is a toothless white elephant.
Yes, but they aren't part of the EU, which is what I think the article means by "Europe". If they join, then yes, they should have to give up their security council seat.
My guess is that Russia joining the EU as a "member state" will never happen.
I don't think I've ever had a running conversation with the same person on 2 different FR threads before.
What I was trying to point out was that the Orwellian Europeans are twisting the language again. As it is, 3 of the 5 permanent seats are European. To suggest that 'Europe' needs a seat to be represented is rediculous. What they want is for the European UNION to have a seat...but they can't say that.
So if I read this right, if the EU gets a single vote, then the rest of the world can still override them? Hmm, this might not be such a bad idea after all...
why not just do away with the u.n.?
from the beginning, for example, the korean war, they were against the united states; they passed on american military secrets to the chicoms.
So not only does France have one seat, now it would effectively have two seats on the security council? Screw that.
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