91996E1154

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1154/96 by Luigi Florio (UPE) to the Commission (15 May 1996)

Subject: Statement by Mr Santer in Bangkok

Can the Commission confirm the truth of Barbara Spinelli's claim in her leading article published in the Italian daily La Stampa on 12 April 1996 that the Commission President, Mr Santer, stated at the Euro-Asia Conference in Bangkok on 1 March this year, and I quote: 'We do not intend to provoke any disputes on human rights: it will only be possible to speak frankly on these matters when bridges have been built and alliances forged.'

If so, what is the exact significance of this statement, which appears to fly in the face of the policy of respecting and spreading human rights, which has always been upheld by the democracies belonging to the EU?

Answer given by Mr Marin on behalf of the Commission (12 June 1996)

In the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) in Bangkok and thereafter, the Commission President emphasised that discussions on human rights between Europe and Asia must continue in a spirit of constructive dialogue rather than conflictual criticism.

This approach made it possible for the Bangkok summit to address directly these issues in plenary as well as in bilateral discussions, notwithstanding a prior hesitation on the part of certain Asian countries to address issues they felt to be controversial. Some examples include the discussions between the heads of state or government of France and China, and of Portugal and Indonesia, the inclusion in the chairman's statement of the Bangkok meeting of references to the Universal declaration on human rights and to the Vienna Declaration, and the particular commitment of all participants in the Bangkok meeting (also mentioned in the chairman's statement) to a strengthened political dialogue and deepened cooperation between Asia and Europe in a broad range of areas including the promotion of fundamental rights. This dialogue will certainly be developed further in future contacts with the ASEM partners, permitting these essential issues to be approached in a positive and constructive fashion.