As European Union leaders are gathering in Lisbon, Portugal, to sign a new EU treaty, Germany’s former foreign minister and vice-chancellor Joschka Fischer told a 500-strong crowd gathered in Brussels that the EU had to rediscover its soul and gather new momentum to face international challenges. Speaking at an event organized by the World Jewish Congress, Fischer said that Europe currently did not play the role it should in conflicts such as the one in the Middle East. “Where was the European voice at the Annapolis conference last month?,” he asked.
He also called on the EU to act decisively on matters such as the Iranian nuclear program. “We must not allow a nuclear arms race in the Middle East on top of all the other problems that exist there, ” Fischer told the gathering, calling for a non-military approach including UN-backed sanctions against Iran. A large number of ambassadors, EU officials and civil society representatives attended Fischer’s lecture in Brussels. Joschka Fischer was foreign minister and vice-chancellor of Germany from 1998-2005 and is a member of the World Jewish Congress Policy Council.
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