Stubb ei arvosta YK:ta toisin kuin EUn

Ulkoasiain Komissaari Benita Ferrero-Waldner – äskettäinen puhe lyhennettynä. Sen oleellinen sisältö on hyvin lähellä Suomen nykyisen ulkopolitiikan toimijoiden linjauksia.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/news/ferrero/2005/sp05_500.htm

Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Institute for Human Sciences, Boston University Boston, 12 September 2005

1) EU-US relations today
Our views on many of today’s most pressing issues are the same – for example the need to encourage China to take its place in the established international rules-based order. We have discovered the benefits of complementarity, in the Broader Middle East, in Iran, in Afghanistan, Georgia, Belarus and elsewhere. Perhaps most importantly, we agree on the need to discuss issues with one another upfront, at the stage of policy formation - before taking action.

2) The EU as a major international power
To maintain our position as an economic giant we must increase our competitiveness - through better, more efficient regulation including deregulation and more focus on education, research and innovation. At the same time we must maintain the core of the European way of life – our member states will be meeting next month to discuss the sustainability of our social model. This is the right answer to globalisation, not cutting ourselves off from the world. We need to be moulding global trends, and influencing the shape of the 21st century world order. We are already a global actor – I know from my daily experience that when we talk, people listen. We are the world's largest economic bloc, and the biggest donor of development assistance. We use our foreign policy tools – aid, trade, and economic agreements - to promote human rights and good governance in every corner of the globe. And for those who say we are no military power – more than 50,000 European soldiers are currently keeping the peace and promoting stability across the world.

3) Who will dominate the 21st Century?
Recently a number of analysts - including at least two Americans (Rifkin, Reid) - have suggested that the future belongs to Europe. They believe the EU is best placed to meet the challenges of globalization in the 21st Century. My analysis is different – not only because I realise it might be risky for a European to stand here in Boston, not far from the beginnings of the American Revolution, and suggest that the “American Century” is drawing to a close! No, my thesis is that the world is changing to such an extent that we will need to draw on the strengths of both the EU and the US if we want to define the international order of the 21st century. We will only wield sufficient influence if we act together, and we must build a transatlantic alliance strong enough to do that. I do not subscribe to the Huntington belief in an inevitable “clash of civilisations”, but nevertheless we must improve understanding between different cultures. Last week at the EU India summit this topic drew a lot of attention, as it will at the UN summit this week. I want to explore innovative ways of pursuing this discussion - in the Middle East, India and Indonesia, and through cooperation with the media.

4) The value of multilateralism and a reformed UN
For that we need what we in the EU refer to as “effective multilateralism”, a rules-based, inclusive international order. The EU works through many multilateral organisations, including the WTO, whose Doha round will make a major contribution to development, and regional multilateral bodies like the OSCE. But the only truly universal multilateral institution is the United Nations. With its inclusive membership and worldwide legitimacy, it remains the most important arena for advancing common solutions to our common problems. If the US, the word’s second biggest donor, were to join us in this commitment and follow the EU’s lead on increasing ODA, the impact on poverty and security would be tremendous.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is changing rapidly and we must unite together to shape international affairs in the 21st century. And to do so, we must be the driving force behind creating an effective United Nations.