PRESIDENT CHIRAC'S ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000166 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN FR SUBJECT: PRESIDENT CHIRAC'S ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS - SEEKING A "NEW START" FOR THE EU IN 2006 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a non-controversial January 10 address to the assembled diplomatic corps, President Chirac touched on the foreign policy challenges of combatting terrorism, preventing nuclear weapons proliferation, fostering progress in the Middle East and Africa, strengthening European defense, and dealing with globalization. In response to the "multipolar world" represented by the emergence of China, India, Brazil and the ASEAN nations and Russian chairmanship of the G-8, Chirac advocated using 2006 "to signal a new start for the European Union." To that end, he proposed strengthening European defense capabilities, introducing a Europe-wide energy policy, begining an EU debate on a comprehensive strategy for enlargement, and enabling heads of state and government to take decisions to improve the functioning of EU institutions based on existing treaties. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) In his January 10 speech at the Elysee (PDF copy sent by email to EUR/WE and posted on Paris' SIPRNET website), President Chirac told the gathered ambassadors that the struggle against terrorism and proliferation must be "relentless." While agreeing that North Korea and Iran were entitled to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Chirac warned that the two states "would be making a serious mistake if they failed to grasp the hand we are extending to them." France Active in Europe and Middle East -------------- ¶3. (C) Chirac spoke of the role France is playing in helping to stabilize the Balkans and the Caucasus before moving on to a discussion of the Middle East. He praised the "courageous governments," Israeli and Palestinian, for making "essential compromises" and said the EU is committed to helping the Palestinians achieve their own state. On Iraq, Chirac stressed that France has backed the Arab League's initiative to convene a Conference on Iraqi National Accord in Baghdad in February. He called on Syria to cooperate fully with the UNIIC investigation into the death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and said that Lebanon has France's full support as it works to restore a sovereign, independent and democratic country. Strengthening the European Union �00A; -------------- ¶4. (C) Chirac devoted about a third of his speech to strengthening the EU in the areas of European defense, enlargement, and institutions. "The strengthening of the EU's means of intervention and its commitment to serving peace are more than ever a priority for France," Chirac said. To illustrate his point, he cited the EU's roles in Kosovo and the DRC, the development of the EU's military operations center in Brussels, and the importance of the EU's effective response to the tsunami of late 2004. Chirac asserted that a "stronger Europe of defense helps build a stronger Atlantic Alliance," suggesting that France would not shy away from promoting its ideas for NATO transformation at the Riga Summit. ¶5. (C) Chirac said the December EU budget agreement had revived European "union, unity and confidence," and that the EU -- at France's instigation -- would conduct a debate on enlargement before the end of the Austrian presidency. Looking forward to the June European summit, Chirac said that France would discuss with its European partners the way forward following the French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitutional treaty and promised that France would "do its utmost" to enable concrete progress for Europe. In that regard, he called for improving the functioning of the Union on the basis of the current governing treaties, citing the areas of internal security and justice, external affairs and defense, and closer involvement of national parliaments in European decision-making processes. More ambitiously, he reiterated his proposal that EU "pioneer groups" be allowed to proceed ahead of others toward more integration, beginning perhaps with the eurozone countries. He also called on the EU to invest more in research and innovation and to develop a Europe-wide energy policy. Helping the Third World -------------- ¶6. (C) Chirac asserted that France is "more than ever" standing by Africa's side and closed his speech by focusing on development needs in Africa, saying that the commitments made at the September UN Millenium Plus Five Summit must be kept and that France would fulfill its pledge to increase PARIS 00000166 002 OF 002 development assistance. He also called on other countries to adopt the airline tax that France has implemented as a source of assistance funds. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Chirac did not stray into controversy with his speech; initial press accounts have focused on his comments on Iran and Europe. He offered the bare minimum on Iraq, without mentioning the U.S. Although the Papal Nuncio (Dean of the Diplomatic Corps) commented at length about the clash of cultures and religions represented by the recent unrest in France's suburbs, Chirac avoided the topic entirely, tossing in a plug only for his favorite pet project (every President has at least one museum),the soon-to-open Quai Branly museum, which will showcase primitive cultures. End comment. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton