EU 25 statement on Israel-Lebanon : immediate cessation of hostilities

[BelgianMadCow]

Before : the EU presidency which currently resides with finland wanted a unanimous statement demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Then : UK, Germany, Poland and Tsjechië opposed such wording.

Outcome : a unanimous demand for immediate "cessation of hostilities", opening up the possibilities for a cease-fire.

In our evening news, our foreign minister had to explain the differences between cessation of hostilities and cease-fire.

Cessation ist : stop
Cease-fire is : a legally binding agreement with terms. he especially mentioned the "legally"

Which makes me think : if you agree to a cessation, and then start again, you just say "hey we started again". If you sign a cease-fire agreement, and start again, you are violating an agreement.


So the opposition has succeeded in watering down the statement, so that it leaves more wiggle room and has less impact.

I'm trying to get an english language link for y'all.

On edit : thanks to Toqueville :
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060801/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflicteu

<SNIP>
"The Council (of EU ministers) calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire," Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja told reporters after three hours of talks.
/<SNIP>

But the headline is : EU fails to demand ceasefire as Israel widens ground war

[tocqueville]

1. here

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060801/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflicteu;_ylt=AjZQkviAhPrDTH4ZC76x_CCBzdAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

the Brits do it for George
the Germans don't want to be accused of anti-semitism
the Dutch have an Ann Frank syndrome

[BelgianMadCow]

3. Thanks for the link Toqueville

I very seldom use yahoo news, to my disadvantage :-)

[mmonk]

2. Watered down or not,

it's better than we'll get from anyone else I suppose. And displays a million times more leadership than our government now and probably ever will again.

[BelgianMadCow]

4. I'm happy too they at least came up with something and

they spoke with one voice in the end.

However, I see some sites merely reporting the divisions and not the end result...

I SO wished we had a strong political union over here.
We need it in times like these.

[mmonk]

5. It's strong enough.

Cessation of hostilities is what it is.

[JackNewtown]

6. The EU talks a good game on Israel

But it doesn't back up its words with actions. It is an economic superpower and could have considerable influence on Israel.

[mmonk]

7. My contention is they should start

using it as a leverage for peaceful means.

[BelgianMadCow]

8. agreed with both of you

[JackNewtown]

13. I agree

Sadly, the two parties won't return to a real peace process without great external pressure. If the US won't play the role of peace broker, the EU must. The EU is the only other entity that can coerce both sides into returning to the negotiating table, which is required before steps are taken to improve the situation. The past five years prove the folly of the current policy of non-negotiation.

[Cleita]

9. Strange I was wondering yesterday if this in fact leads

to WWIII, who would the EU ally with? Would they become allies with the USA/Israel or would they back the Arab opposition? Could they sit this out in neutrality? I wonder.

[tocqueville]

12. WWIII against who ?

the EU is as usual in full damage control of the US/Israel policies in the ME. In the unlikely event of a general "Arab" upprising against the West (it would be in the first place against their own local governments), the EU would defend itself. But they are not going to intervene is Israel is thown out of Lebanon and the US out of Iraq, and probably not participate in military operations against Iran, unless there is a UN resolution about it. And remember that it is NATO that is in charge in Afghanistan now, the US participation decreasing all the time.

[Cleita]

10. Strange I was wondering yesterday if this in fact leads

to WWIII, who would the EU ally with? Would they become allies with the USA/Israel or would they back the Arab opposition? Could they sit this out in neutrality? I wonder.

[Cleita]

11. Strange I was wondering yesterday if this in fact leads

to WWIII, who would the EU ally with? Would they become allies with the USA/Israel or would they back the Arab opposition? Could they sit this out in neutrality? I wonder.