Europe, Headlines, Middle East & North Africa, North America

IRAQ: Transatlantic Differences Difficult to Bridge

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Jun 28 2004 (IPS) - The European Union and the United States are still trying to bridge differences over Iraq as the handover of power was brought forward to Monday.

After a difficult year of disagreements over Iraq, the European Union (EU) and the United States have realised that they need each other in Iraq and elsewhere, but putting old differences behind them is proving a challenge.

In a tentative step towards resolving differences over the war in Iraq, the EU and the United States worked towards a common position over the future of the country at a series of meetings over he last few days.

The two powers took steps to come closer at a EU-U.S. summit in Ireland Saturday (Jun. 26) and at a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) meeting in Turkey Monday.

Both sides hailed the EU-U.S. summit a success, with U.S. President Bush declaring "an end to differences between the two powers" over the war and saying he had secured an EU promise to assist the incoming Iraqi government.

"I think the bitter differences over the war are over," Bush said at the conclusion of the meeting. "We all agree a democratic and peaceful Iraq, with its territorial integrity intact, is to all our benefit."

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, president of the European Council of the EU until the end of the month said the meeting had been "extremely productive" and had reaffirmed the strength, depth and significance of the transatlantic relationship, which he said was "based on a common set of democratic values."

A senior U.S. administration official told media representatives that the meeting had been "the most productive EU-U.S. summit" since Bush became President in January 2001.

"It’s very clear that you now have a political consensus between the United States and Europe on the way forward – not a political consensus in retrospect about Iraq last year, but a consensus on what we do now," the official said.

The EU made no mention of a future military role in Iraq in a joint statement issued after the summit, but the senior official said the Europeans approved the multinational force on the ground.

"This means that the European Union member states who have troops in Iraq now can no longer be accused by anyone of acting against a general European consensus," the official said.

But it is unclear how long this renewed optimism will last as cracks are already beginning to show.

While the two sides declared agreement on a number of issues, including elections and political dialogue, and called for a strong UN role after the transfer of sovereignty, fundamental differences remain.

In the joint statement at the EU-U.S. summit the EU pledged "a continued and expansive engagement of the UN in Iraq after the transfer of sovereignty", including support for "the training and equipping of professional Iraqi security forces." But it made no mention of a future military role in Iraq.

Later on Monday leaders of the 26-member NATO formally agreed to offer training to the security forces of Iraq’s new interim government, but a potential new row looms over where to train such forces, with both France and Germany refusing to send instructors into Iraq.

France says it is still reluctant to support an active role for NATO on the ground, and insists there will be "no NATO flag" in Iraq.

The United States has made some compromises here. In a move to calm the concerns of European leaders, it has indicated that it does not expect NATO members to contribute many new troops to Iraq.

The training commitment represents a greatly lowered expectation on the part of the Bush administration after it became clear in recent weeks that NATO was not willing to commit any troops to Iraq.

But Bush indicated Saturday that he is not prepared to further compromise his position over the handover of power.

"I’m going to set a vision, I’m going to lead, and we’ll just let the chips fall where they may," he said, adding that the only public opinion he cared about was that of the U.S. voters in this election year.

Domestic opinion polls in the United States show declining support for the Iraq occupation as a succession of deadly bomb attacks overshadowed the planned transition of power.

For Bush, it is important to show voters at home that he is working to improve the situation and beginning to repair relations with Europe.

The EU has no formal role in the handover of power to Iraq, but observers say that the bloc still holds an important position in the negotiations.

Annette Heuser, director at the Bertelsmann Foundation, a think-tank based in Germany says the EU should play a part by "clearly stating" its support for the handover.

"The EU should contribute to the political efforts to ensure stability and security by supporting the construction of institutions and a legal and judicial system, providing police training outside the country and contributing to the creation and consolidation of civil society structures," she told IPS.