No sign of a common European foreign policy

Martin Winter criticises the unilateralist conduct of certain EU member states, which he says is hindering a common EU foreign policy: "There was a time when the EU wanted to work shoulder to shoulder with the major powers, with the US and Russia, to steer the world towards calmer waters. But nothing will come of this as long as individual nations continue to go their own way. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, for instance, is weakening Europe's influence in the Middle East by propagating a U-turn in Europe's Palestine policy without the backing of other EU states. Poland and the Czech Republic are making a mockery of the EU's joint foreign and security policy by making deals with the US on missile policies behind the backs of their European partners. In the same way several EU countries are taking sides with the US on the Kosovo issue, as a result of which the independent voice of Europeans has barely any weight at the negotiating table. And France's unapproved initiative for founding a Mediterranean union is causing confusion more than anything else, both within and outside the European Union."

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