David Miliband

Cold Turkey?

Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and architect of the UN plan for Kosovo, is leading a cross European group on Turkey and the EU. His points in this piece for the IHT are completely right – we need to up the game.  The strategic significance of Turkey’s accession talks and final accession are impossible to overestimate.  From the Middle East to energy, Turkey is a pivotal player.

Tomorrow I meet the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer.  The drive for a settlement needs to pick up momentum this autumn and winter, in the sense that the politics will only get more difficult thereafter.  I think this is one of the most important and soluble frozen conflicts.  I am concerned that the first round of talks has been so painstaking, but now the second round is underway we need a real push from all sides.

Posted at 16:15 14 September 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[5]

Georgia: one year on

Almost one year on from the Russia-Georgia conflict, there remains a lot to do to repair the damage. Thousands of displaced people are still unable to return to their homes. Russian troops still occupy positions in breach of the ceasefire agreements signed last summer.

Our support for Georgia’s rights is clear. Glenys Kinnock made this clear when she visited Tbilisi in June. I applaud the EU's decision this week to extend the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia.

I very much welcome Vice-President Biden's reaffirmation  during his recent visit to Tbilisi of US commitment to a democratic Georgia -consolidation of the progress made so far is the clearest path towards durable peace.   

There is a separate and wider debate about European security spurred by President Medvedev’s call for a “New European Security Architecture”. It is important, and can show that the post Soviet geography of Central and Eastern Europe is not a threat to Russia. The greatest risks we face are shared.

Posted at 15:24 30 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[20]

Irish Eyes Smiling

As I explained on Irish radio yesterday the deal secured by Ireland at the European council for a decision in respect of legal guarantees about the Lisbon Treaty, to be followed by the annexing of the decision to a future European treaty, is a win-win - good for Ireland and good for the rest of Europe. All parties there except Sinn Fein support a yes vote in the referendum now planned for early October. But no one is taking anything for granted.

The guarantees address concerns about tax, abortion and defence - and assure that the Lisbon Treaty does not affect Irish practice. My impression is that Irish voters are going to give them a good look. The fact that every country will keep a commissioner is also relevant. I can't tell the Irish how to vote. I can say there was a good deal in Brussels.

Posted at 17:47 02 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[1]

European Future

The European election results show that there is a big job for pro Europeans all over Europe to counter apathy or negativism about the European Union.  One way to do that is to put behind us institutional debates.  This was a theme of my speech in the House of Commons last week before the European Council.  But another essential feature is to map out a positive role for the EU in the future.

We need to defend the gains of the past.  For me that means understanding that Europe has a distinctive model of the social market economy and liberal politics.  Social market economy because the market is regulated to serve the public interest.  liberal politics because the foundation of the EU is the respect for civil, political and social rights that came out of the Enlightenment.  But we also need to advance a new set of European responsibilities for the future.  In my speech I pick out two areas in particular.

First energy.  It was a particularly apposite to speak about this in Poland given the dependence of Europe on Russian gas.  The second is foreign policy where Europe needs to speak with a clearer louder voice.  People talk about a "G2 (Group of Two)" world in 2050, meaning the US and China. If there is to be a G3 then Europe needs to be the third leg, not replacing the nation state but speaking up for European interests and values. 

Posted at 16:42 25 June 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[4]

Euroscepticism is Yesterday's Creed

There's some wishful thinking in the air, judging by the less than rapturous acclaim for the European response to the financial crisis, but Gideon Rachman's piece in the FT this week  on this theme - disowning his own euroscepticism - is worth reading. His basic argument, that Europe's economic, democratic and social/environmental gains need to be defended, and that this can only be done from within the tent, and with proposals for renewal, is absolutely right.

There are lessons for eurosceptics and europhiles in the financial crisis, and I will look at them in a speech on Monday at the Policy Network conference at the LSE: "An EU Fit for Purpose in a Modern Age"    My argument will be that Europe's gains can only be preserved by further policy reform. It's an argument for European engagement, not isolation.

And as the Prime Minister pointed out in his speech to the US Congress this week , bilateral and multilateral relationships across the Atlantic are mutually reinforcing. It is good for Britain for the EU-US relationship to be close and effective. Every US president since John Kennedy has supported a more united Europe. Barack Obama is no exception. We cut off our nose to spite our face by thinking that we preserve the strength of the US-UK relationship if we neglect the EU-US relationship.

Posted at 17:19 06 March 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

Piracy in Somalia

Yesterday marked the launch of the European Union's naval mission to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden and along the Somali Coast, under British command.  It is a hugely tough job, inextricably linked to the ground situation in Somalia, but vital for global trade and security.  The mission's key roles are to protect World Food Programme humanitarian deliveries to Somalia, protecting  other vulnerable shipping and deterring and disrupting piracy more widely.  The mission, called Operation "Atalanta",  also includes airborne surveillance in known piracy high risk areas.  Warships and patrol aircraft from  eight  nations including the UK  are so far committed to participate in "Atalanta", and the EU has made clear it would welcome participation by non-EU member states too, in recognition that this is a shared international problem and responsibility.   It is a good example of the EU bringing together the resources of member states to good effect.

Posted at 17:55 09 December 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[4]

Buyers' Remorse

The European Council will be remembered for the confidence of the European proposals for global financial regulation. We are not going to argue about where credit belongs for their creation: suffice to say they are ideas with which we are more than comfortable.

But the Council has set the scene for a very serious discussion between now and December about how the EU is to meet the ambitious climate change goals that were agreed in March 2007. There is no question that some of those who have doubts about the climate change agenda, or still don't believe in the economics of climate change after Nicholas Stern's report, are getting buyers' remorse about the March 2007 deal. But what is their argument?

Surely not that we can avoid making decisions in December. By then a new US President will be giving indications of how he plans to handle this issue. We cannot end up in a situation where Europe does not have a climate change position and America does. Nor that we should revisit the targets (no one actually suggested this at this Council).

Nor, on the other side, that there does not need to be proper recognition in the final package of the particular situations of different countries or the need for cost effectiveness in the way the climate agenda is pursued.

In the event this was early sparring. But stick to the targets and it doesn't matter that much how they are hit - more energy efficiency, more renewables, more nuclear, they all count towards a low carbon agenda.

Posted at 17:18 16 October 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[3]

Economic Stability Plan

I was in Brussels yesterday for talks in the European Parliament and European Commission.  Everyone is trying to come to terms with the financial crisis, and anticipate (and if possible mitigate) its impact on the wider economy. In that context the Stability Plan announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor has drawn widespread admiration as the most systematic - and system wide - programme on the table.  Addressing the three interlinked problems of liquidity, solvency and confidence through three major initiatives the plan builds on the coordinated principles agreed by European finance ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday.  As such it is a strong basis for complementary action by other European governments.

Posted at 11:36 09 October 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[8]

Ireland: 13 weeks on

Last Wednesday’s publication of the Irish government (but independently conducted) survey of Irish opinion on the Lisbon Treaty provided a good backdrop to my visit on Thursday, to meet Ministers, businessmen and NGOs, and to talk with a wide spectrum of Dublin opinion at their Mansion House

The results in the polling show higher than average support for the EU, more people saying they did not know the contents of the Treaty (42% of No Votes), and a lot of concern about national issues like abortion and conscription.  The basics of the situation have not changed: if the Irish do not pass the Treaty it does not become law; it is up to the Irish what to do next; five other countries are still in the process of ratification; and European leaders will discuss next steps following a report from the Irish Prime Minister in October.

But the striking thing about the maturing debate in Dublin is that fundamental issues about Ireland and its future as well as Europe and its future are emerging.  There will be debates in a new parliamentary committee.  But Ireland is facing the challenge of global economic uncertainty as an open economy – like the UK.  And the Irish want a European Union that supports Irish development.  The opportunity that arises is to update Ireland’s vision of its own future and Europe’s.

For the UK, that strengthens the core argument for a global European role – on issues like energy, security and defence, climate change and trade.  This is not an alternative to internal policy reform – on the single market or the budget.   It’s an essential counterpart of the global vision.

Posted at 17:00 15 September 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[6]

Thankfully...August is over

It must be a western conceit to think that just because we are on holiday in August there should be fewer crises in foreign policy. Sure enough, August is usually full of crises: coups, scares etc. We go on holiday; we jet back from holiday. Why do we even think that two weeks could go by without a problem?

This year has proved no different. And the Georgia crisis is a real crisis. The European Council meets today in emergency session for the first time since September 11 2001. Over 100,000 Georgian refugees have joined the 200,000-plus left over from the civil wars of the early 1990s. That is reason enough to say there is a crisis.

But the rupture in international norms is more significant. As recently as April, Russia supported a UN Resolution affirming the territorial integrity of Georgia. Today it is occupying and recognising two breakaway states. Talk about unilateral use of force without UN cover ...

Many people have made the point that "we" need Russia - if not for gas then over Iran or Afghanistan. This is true. But Russia needs "us" too. As Fareed Zakaria cleverly points out in Newsweek, Russia's actions in Georgia are a potentially serious strategic blunder: Europe has been united by Russian action; trans-Atlanticism revived; and China alienated. Not a clever day's work.

I do not celebrate this breach. Russia's integration into global economics and politics is actually the best hope for a country losing population at Russia's rate.

Europe and America have not rushed thoughtlessly into action. We will be deliberate and effective in choosing the right ways to react to Russia's actions. In the short term we support democratic and sovereign countries, starting with Georgia, which need economic and political help. In due course we will raise the costs to Russia of such behaviour.

This isn't about winning or losing, as the Russian Foreign Minister pointed out in the FT two weeks ago. What we want to see is Russia on a different course, not Russia ground down. A weak Russia is as little in our interests as an aggressive one.

Posted at 21:51 01 September 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[27]

Not a Euro Army

Sometimes eurosceptics are thought to have good tunes because they are the only ones humming.  On reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Union's financial management there is a pro-European case for reform.  But the truth is that these problems are not the fundamental reason for no votes in referenda on Europe - there are bigger questions about the purpose and direction of the EU.  This is what I tried to address in my speech last night.

Security and defence policy is a hard case and a good case for thinking about the appropriate European role.  NATO is the foundation of security but does not act everywhere and needs civilian and policing complements.  But defence policy is a core national authority so this is a matter for intergovernmental work not the "community method".  On this French and British thinking is similar.  What we need are capabilities to act where NATO doesn't (e.g. Bosnia today) or where it needs partners (e.g. Kosovo).

It's not frightening - it's sensible.

Posted at 20:46 04 July 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[6]

Asian century - European model?

By 2020 Asia will account for 45 per cent of global gdp, one third of global trade, and its military spending will have grown by a quarter. Energy demand among APEC economies will grow by 40 per cent by 2020 - over half the increase in global energy consumption over the period.  Yet politically the region is fragmented between APEC, ASEAM, the East Asia Summit (ASEAN plus three). 

That is the analysis of Australian PM Kevin Rudd's speech on 4 June.   It is powerful. And so is his response - regional cooperation learning from the European experience. As he says: "in the 1950s sceptics saw European integration as unrealistic. But most people would now agree that the goal of the visionaries in Europe who sat down in the 1950s and resolved to build prosperity and a common sense of a security community has been achieved.  It is that spirit we need to capture in our hemisphere."

Posted at 21:56 07 June 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[6]

Serbia Looking West

Congratulations to Boris Tadic's “Coalition for a European Serbia” party list which has won an outstanding victory in the Serbian general election. They made Europe the issue and won. Now as a coalition is formed the democratic will of the Serbian people needs to be respected.

Posted at 10:01 14 May 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[0]