2ND EU, China continue wrangles over Europe's arms embargo By Shada Islam and Leon Mangasarian

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Saturday September 9, 2006

By Shada Islam and Leon Mangasarian, Helsinki- The European Union and China on Saturday continued to wrangle over the 25-nation bloc's arms embargo against Beijing. A statement issued by an EU-China summit in Helsinki said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had urged the EU to lift the 17-year-old arms sales ban at an early date.

"The Chinese side reiterated its view that lifting the arms embargo would be conducive to the sound development of EU-China relations," the statement added.

But while the EU said it "recognized the importance of the issue," there was no promise to end the ban in the immediate future.

Instead, EU leaders said they were willing to "carry forward work towards lifting the embargo" on the basis of early promises that this would be done once the bloc had completed work on a common code of conduct on global arms sales.

The EU slapped the ban following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The statement papered over continuing EU-China differences over human rights.

It said both sides were committed to the protection and protection of human rights and said the EU welcomed China's commitment to ratify the international covenant on civil and political rights "as soon as possible."

The EU and China emphasized the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and the need for "appropriate deterrence against piracy" and the effective enforcement of anti-counterfeiting legislation.

Leaders said the EU-China relationship was "maturing into a comprehensive strategic partnership."

Both sides also agreed to launch negotiations on a new partnership and cooperation agreement.

On North Korea, EU and China leaders emphasized their wish to see the six-party talks on halting Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme process resume rapidly and "make progress.

Both China and the EU expressed their "grave concern" over North Korea's multiple missile launches in July.

The leaders urged all the parties to take a "flexible and pragmatic approach" in creating conditions for an early resumption of the six party talks involving the two Koreas as well as China, Russia, Japan and the US.

North Korea was also high on the agenda of the EU's talks earlier Saturday with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun who told reporters he wanted a diplomatic end to the nuclear crisis with Pyongyang.

Roh said he would push for such a diplomatic course in talks with US President George W Bush next week.

Roh said he would strive to convince Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks.

Asked if he expected Bush to seek sanctions for North Korea, Roh said his discussions in Washington on September 14 would focus on finding a diplomatic way out of the current standoff.

"Whether there will be pressure or not I don't know," said Roh, adding that all his efforts were aimed at a peaceful resolution and persuading North Korea to return to the six-party discussions.

Roh made his comments ahead of a visit to the region by US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill. Washington is believed to considering imposing additional economic sanctions on Pyongyang, including a travel ban, and restrictions on trade and investments.

The South Korean leader has long pursued a soft-line policy of reconciliation with North Korea.

The six-party negotiations stalled last November after Pyongyang refused to return to talks unless the US lifted sanctions on a Macao-based bank allegedly involved in illegal financial dealings with North Korea.

Separately, South Korea welcomed EU efforts to find a "peaceful and diplomatic solution" to the Iranian nuclear crisis through negotiation, the statement added.

Boosting ties with the EU, South Korea signed an agreement on its participation in the EU's Galileo global satellite navigation system, a rival to America's Global Positioning System (GPS).

The EU and South Korea are currently engaged in exploratory talks on the feasibility of signing a free trade agreement to expand bilateral trade.

Discussions are aimed at verifying "the common level of ambition and readiness" to clinch such a free trade deal said the statement.

But European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso underlined these were only preliminary talks.

"So far we have not decided on a specific mandate at the EU level," said Barroso.

The 25 EU leaders will open a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit with 13 Asian leaders in Helsinki on Sunday.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur