Europeans want greater say in U.S defence system
Big News Network.com Friday 18th January, 2008
The president of the Western European Union Assembly, Jean-Pierre Masseret, has said U.S plans to deploy missile defence systems in Poland and the Czech Republic are essentially a European issue.
He said he believed the missile defence problem should be resolved by the whole of Europe, rather than by the U.S and the other two countries involved.
Russia has strongly opposed the U.S plans which it sees as a threat to its security.
Mr Masseret has stated that the WEU Assembly should act as a mediator, as it stands for cooperation between the U.S initiative and the Russian approach.
Mr Masseret called on Russia not to exaggerate the missile defence threat to it, but also said the whole European Union should deal with the issue so that all parties bear responsibility for the final decision.
The WEU Assembly deals exclusively with security and defence problems.
It currently unites parliamentarians from 37 European countries, including all EU and European NATO members, as well as Russia, Ukraine and Balkan states.
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