Press release of Vittorio Agnoletto (MEP), Jaromir Kohlicek (MEP), Tobias Pflüger (MEP), Brussels June 15th

Today the AFET adopted with a great majority the report Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos, European Union and Iraq - a framework for engagement.

In the report there is no condemnation of the war of aggression against Iraq and the continuing occupation. All amendments of the GUE/NGL calling for an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops and the restoration of international legality have been rejected.

Even simple statements of facts, such as: the elections in Iraq took place under occupation by foreign troops or no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, were rejected by the majority of the committee.

It's just a scandal that the committee legitimised the war of aggression by the United States and its allies.

On a basis of such a resolution a democratic Iraq can't be build. We call on the EU to make a serious commitment to democratisation and the withdrawal of the occupying forces by not supporting any façade of democratic legitimacy on the part of Iraqi authorities.

We call for the immediate withdrawal of foreign occupying troops, the re-establishment of Iraq's full democratic sovereignty and the resumption of control over the country's resources by sovereign Iraqi authorities;

We call also for a greater commitment by, and a leading role for, the United Nations in the political stabilisation process on condition that the occupation is not legitimised by the United Nations and that no forces under a UN mandate replace the occupying forces.

We call in particular, on those politically responsible, for the occupying forces and for the torture in Abu Ghraib to be prosecuted;

We stress that the reconstruction process has to be conducted in a neutral way, placing the reconstruction projects under the control of Iraqi authorities and the people themselves, according to their own needs and not the needs of the occupying forces; deplore the fact that long term contracts with foreign companies have already been signed under the US-led interim Government, which will impose difficult constraints on the new Iraqi Government.

We are very surprised that the Greens voted in favour of this resolution.

Brussels June 15th