In a “unipolar” world, it is essential to “define a new role for the United Nations”. So writes Kofi Annan, in an editorial published by the Herald Tribune (4/12) on the international situation. According to the UN Secretary General, “we have reached a decisive moment in our history. The great threat of a nuclear conflict between two rival superpowers is now a thing of the past. But a new and different constellation of threats has emerged in its place. We must review once again the structure of international relations”. The basic objective on which we need to converge, according to Annan, is that of “ developing a shared analysis of the present and future threats to peace and security, both to prepare a rigorous assessment of the contribution that collective action can make to tackling these threats, and to recommend the necessary changes with a view to making the United Nations a legitimate and effective means for a collective response”. “Iraq, long war”: that’s the title of the editorial of Bruno Frappat ( La Croix, 3/12) in which the post-war situation in Iraq is analysed. “March-April: six weeks of war. May-November: seven months of occupation”, is the lapidary conclusion of the French Catholic weekly, citing a recent report that estimates at “over 500 victims” the total losses in human life suffered by the forces of the “coalition”, most of them “sustained after the ‘victory’ in the spring”. The “evolution” of the European Commission is reflected on, in turn, by Giuliano Amato, Jean-Luc Dehane and Valéry Giscard d’Estang, in a joint front-page article in Le Monde (4/12) in which they attempt a detailed “review” of the Commission’s role and its future prospects. “If there’s a place where the sole consideration is that of the European identity and its common good, that is the Commission”, they declare, urging that the Commission be “confirmed…in its role of expressing the general European interest”. A firm rejection of anti-Semitism and “islamophobia” is expressed by Elio Maraone ( Avvenire), according to whom the “common destiny” of Europe can only be forged through “an ever closer dialogue” between all its components . “The disaster of Iraq” is the title of the article by Jose Antich, editor in chief of the Spanish daily La Vanguardia ( 1/12), who writes that “perhaps the time has come to say out loudly and clearly that the situation of Iraq is a disaster, where there was no short war as the USA claimed, where Saddam has failed to show up and where no one knows whether there is really any way to find him”. Antich sees the death of the seven Spanish members of the Centro nacional de inteligencia (Spanish security services) in Iraq as “a shock for Spanish public opinion that regarded the conflict as something remote and with consequences only for the two big armies of the USA and the UK”. Alongside Schröder‘s visit to China, the German press also focuses on European issues. On the future of Europe, Martin Winter writes as follows in the Frankfurter Rundschau (1/12): “ The question whether and what future Europe has, is not decided in Brussels and not even in the Convention’s draft constitution. It is decided by the future 25 proprietors of the firm. Those who see the Union as a work in common, in which everyone’s advantage is also one’s own, are developing Europe’s political agenda. Those, on the contrary, who see the Union as a threat to their own national sovereignty will try to fetter her“. “ The dispute on the future dimensions of the EU Commission has been so heated because the small member countries have so far felt themselves discriminated against. The accusation that an enlarged Commission would automatically mean a loss of efficiency, rings false, especially from the mouths of those who have done their best to demolish the Commission’s authority. It’s not important whether the authorities be composed of 20 or 25 members: what matters is that their authority be unchallengeable“, comments K.F. in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (1/12). “How dead is the Stability Pact?”, asks the weekly Der Spiegel (1/12). “ The victory of Eichel (German Finance Minister) over the EU Commission conceals considerable risks. It is to be feared that the discipline that has so far been effective in containing government deficits will no longer work in future“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1254 N.ro relativo : 84 Data pubblicazione : 05/12/03
