Lecture by H.E. Mr. Hayder Al-Barrak, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Iraq, at the Diplomatic Institute

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Although this topic has been the subject of lots of discussions, it is still of great importance for several reasons, which I shall mention in this lecture. The world is oriented towards the establishment of regional and international organizations and the EU, being such an organization, has been heading towards enlargement ever since it was founded. Today, we see how far this enlargement has reached, and I can assure you, it will not stop here, but will continue, maybe after a little pause, as some have foretold. The Middle East on the other hand has seen, and will probably continue to see in the future, some serious events, which make it necessary for the other countries, as well as for the political, economic and military organizations, to regard these events from a different viewpoint, and the establishment of a new kind of relations with the countries in the region of the Middle East, and with Iraq in particular, will be of mutual interest.

Before talking specifically about the relations of Iraq with the EU, I shall first throw some light on the Arab-European relations, because Iraq is a part of the Arab region.

The Arab-European relations

Indeed there are several factors, which generally have a positive influence on the relations of the Arab countries with the EU. The geographical, economic and political factors, as well as the security factor, for sure play a role in the establishment of more cordial relations between some of the Arab countries, the Mediterranean ones in particular, and some EU member-states, and the European Union as a whole. The partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean countries has been carried on in several spheres: politics, security, economy, culture and the social sphere.

If we analyze what the Arab countries and the EU have in common, we could draw the following conclusion: some of the Arab countries see in Europe a community, which can be characterized as objective and on which they can rely, as regards the effort for achievement of a strategic balance in the region, and an agreement between Europe and the USA on the ways, in which the problems in the region could be solved; some other countries, on the other hand, want the EU to play a complementary role to the USA in the field of international politics; the champions of this position see no point in Europe's playing a role of its own in this respect, which makes some think that the future of the relations between the Arab world and Europe will be influenced by the role, which Europe will choose to play in the Arab region on a global level.

As regards the geographical factor alone, the Arab world is Europe's gateway to two continents – Asia and Africa. With the development of the new technologies and the progress of science, however, the importance of this factor has decreased. Anyway, the Middle East remains Europe's neighbor and that is why their long common history has seen many periods of war, immediately followed by ones of cooperation and collaboration.

Economy remains the key-factor in the relations between the Arab countries and the EU. The Arab region has its place in the economy of the EU, because it is an important market for the European goods. It is also considered Europe's main source of fuels. At the same time, the EU member-states are among the main sources of investments and advanced technologies, much needed in the Arab countries.

The democratic processes in Iraq, which came as a result of the overthrow of the former regime, led to changes, which are of major importance to the democratic development of the region and the adoption of a more open and democratic line of policy-making.

And maybe this will be an extra stimulus for Europe to turn its attention to the Middle East, because the EU is considered to be one of the main pillars, which supports democracy and provides peace and security at a global level. This attention found an _expression during the 41st Munich Conference on Security Policy 2005, when the German Minister of Foreign Affairs proposed the launching of a European-American initiative, aimed at the establishment of security and stability in the Middle East, because their lack in the region had become a global concern.

By the way, the issue of security and stability at one point became a very delicate one and there were many mutual accusations, based on religious and ethnical motives. But shortly after that the world reached the conclusion that terrorism knows no geographical borders; it is a contemporary plague that has neither religion, nor nationality.

We must note yet another very important international initiative and that is Resolution 1618, adopted by the UN Security Council on August 4, 2005, which condemns the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Iraq and regards any act of terrorism, anywhere in the world, as a threat to peace and security. This resolution is the _expression of an undeniable truth and it is that the terrorist attacks in Iraq, as well as in other parts of the globe, require international support and cooperation between Iraq and the forces of love, good and peace. This resolution supports without reservation the line of policymaking, adopted by the Iraqi Government, and appeals to the other EU members to take a stand of solidarity with Iraq in the war on terror.

Last but not least, it was decided the EU to take part in the control of the Rafah checkpoint in the Gaza strip, shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian and the Egyptian authorities.

Iraq and Europe

Despite the differences in the stands of the European countries on the war for liberation of Iraq, the EU has adopted a policy of support to the new Iraqi Leadership, thus expressing its readiness to cooperate in the building of the New Iraq.

The portents of this change and of the American-European concord became evident last June in Brussels, during the International Conference on Iraq, organized jointly by the EU and the USA.

The observers defined this conference as an important move towards supporting Iraq in its political transition and its efforts for post-war reconstruction, and towards helping the country introduce interior security and order. After that the EU Leadership praised the Draft Constitution of Iraq and the referendum, which led to its passing, and congratulated the Iraqi people on this major achievement, which was defined as an important step towards the realization of political changes. Then the EU appealed to all Iraqi citizens to take part in the next stage of the political process, the general elections in December 2005. Iraq and the EU signed a political declaration, which was the first of its kind.

The declaration is considered to be a huge achievement in the sphere of the bilateral relations between Iraq and the EU which paves the way for dialogue on a wide range of political issues. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, said this declaration was a huge step towards the establishment of narrower cooperation between the EU and Iraq and it would pave the way for reaching an agreement for collaboration between Iraq and Europe, to cover a broad range of economic and trade issues.

A top-level EU delegation visited Baghdad. During this visit Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, said that particular results and agreements had been reached and Benita Ferrero-Waldner emphasized that this visit to Baghdad set the beginning of a new type of political relations, which would develop toward a full partnership between Iraq and the EU. On his part, Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Prime Minister of Iraq, proposed Iraq to be included as a party in the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements.

Not long ago, a delegation of the EU, led by Mr. John Sawers, Head of the Political Department of the European Union Presidency, visited Baghdad and had talks with a few Iraqi Ministers, aimed at the development of the relations with the EU. After that, Mr. Sawers emphasized on how important it was for Iraq to take its role in the International Community, and that the EU was really interested in seeing a stable and democratic Iraq.

Some observers were misled in their evaluations that the new stand of Europe on Iraq, compared to the one it had before and during the War for Liberation of Iraq, is based on the Iraqi reality and on what is happening in the country now, but we share quite a different opinion and namely that the EU has certain interests in Iraq and that its current position is the result of these interests. We also think that it would be better if the stands of the EU and the USA on Iraq are in harmony with the latest trends in the development of the connections with the New Iraq, and the Conference on Iraq, held in Brussels in June, proved this statement.

The New Iraq, which strives to receive the support of the International Community, including the EU, warmly welcomes the decision of the European Community to open its mission in Baghdad and has asked the EU to set the beginning of a new stage in the partnership between Iraq and the EU. Considering the aforementioned, we can conclude that the EU is taking some very successful steps towards making political investments in Iraq and the economic results from these steps will be seen in the near future, after Iraq receives the support, which it needs to put an end to terrorism and reconstruct the country.