New Coalition - New German Foreign Policy Goals

At Reuters I have came across a fresh excerpt of the new German foreign policy guidelines. German coalition negotiations between Merkel`s conservatives and the Free Democrats resulted in a foreign policy agreement as part of a wider coalition negotiation process. As a stronghold of the Euro-Atlantic alliance and the engine of Europe`s economy, Germany`s new foreign policy goals containing vital issues as NATO, Afghanistan and Russia is of key imporatnce.

Foreign policy section of German coalition draft

10.21.09, 03:02 PM EDT

BERLIN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Below are excerpts from the foreign policy section of a draft coalition agreement that is expected to be approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Free Democrats (FDP) later this week.
Unless otherwise stated, this language has been agreed by working groups which include members from all the coalition parties and is therefore unlikely to be altered in the final policy programme.

TURKEY
'Germany has a special interest in deepening its relations with Turkey and linking the country to the European Union. The EU membership talks that began in 2005 are an open-ended process that is not based on automatism and has no guaranteed end-result.
'If the EU is not in a position to take on new members or Turkey cannot fully meet all the criteria necessary for membership, Turkey must be bound closely to European structures in a way that allows its privileged relationship with the EU to develop further.'

RUSSIA
'We will support Russia in its efforts to move ahead decisively with a modernisation of the country and thereby remove deficits in human rights, the rule of law and democracy.'
'The valid interests of our neighbours will be taken into account in shaping our bilateral relations with Russia.'

AFGHANISTAN
'We understand our engagement in Afghanistan as being of special national interest ... The government will continue to make a contribution to this task that is in line with its importance.'
'In cooperation with our partners, we will hand over responsibility step by step to the authorities of the country.'

IRAN
'We will continue to work, together with our partners in the E3+3 group, to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. In this process we favour diplomacy, but are also ready, in consultation with our partners, to pursue tougher sanctions if necessary.'

MILITARY PROJECTS
'The coalition is fully committed to the contract for the A400M military project. The strategic air transport will be secured. As for the outstanding Eurofighters, the coalition parties have agreed that future exports can count towards the number of planes that still have to be ordered in tranche 3B.'
(In brackets, indicating this has not been agreed by Merkel's conservatives, the FDP have written in: 'The government demands an immediate and amicable end to the MEADS defence project')

UNITED NATIONS REFORM
'We want the structures of this world organisation to mirror the reality of today. Against this backdrop, we remain ready to take on greater international responsibility with a permanent seat on the Security Council. Nevertheless, we continue to seek a common European permanent seat in the Security Council in the context of a broader reform and in line with the Lisbon treaty.'

DISARMAMENT
'... we will strive within (NATO) and with our American allies for a withdrawal of the last U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany.'

(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Noah Barkin; editing by David Stamp) Keywords: GERMANY COALITION/FOREIGN
(noah.barkin@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5091; Reuters Messaging: rm://noah.barkin.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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