Foreign Minister Plassnik discussed with her EU Foreign Minister colleagues on Monday the situation in Iraq following the publication of the results of the parliamentary elections in December 2005 and the bombing of the Imam Ali-Hadi Mosque in Samarra.
"The attack on the Shiite holy shrine in Samarra and the violent clashes between Shias and Sunnis that followed have come at an extremely critical point in the political process in Iraq. They are designed to undermine the current efforts to unite the different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq in a government of national unity; but the terrorists must not be allowed to have their way", Plassnik said.
"The process of forming a government in Iraq involves a complicated balancing of the interests and sensitivities of the ethnic, religious and political groups. This process is anything but simple. The EU will continue to actively support this transformation process", she continued.
Commenting on the situation in the Middle East against the background of the newly constituted Palestinian parliament, Plassnik said: "My colleagues in the Council and I support the Commission’s intention to provide additional emergency assistance and authorise the release of resources from the World Bank Trust Fund. We will not abandon the Palestinian people. However, the future Palestinian government must recognise Israel’s right to exist and respect existing agreements with Israel."
The Council also adopted conclusions on the reactions in the Muslim world to the publication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in European media. "We must put the bitterness behind us and reduce the tensions that followed these publications. Today the Council has sent a clear signal and determined its basic position and also its future actions in this matter", the Minister declared.
"We acknowledge and regret that these cartoons were considered offensive by Muslims across the world. At the same time, we stress that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and that free media are indispensable to a free and open society", Plassnik declared. She also stressed that the Council had expressed its full solidarity with all those countries whose citizens, diplomatic or consular missions have come under attack. She also said that, during the discussions in the Council, the EU Member States had given their clear backing to the Council Presidency’s handling of the matter.
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