Santer (PPE-DE). – (FR) Mr President, I should like to start by offering my very sincere thanks to the President-in-Office of the Council and to the Commission for the information which they have given us about the Union mission to North Korea. The European Union must, indeed, be aware of its own stake in the future of the Korean peninsular. Last January, the European Parliament asked both the Council and the Commission, following a visit from an ad hoc delegation, to take the measures needed to consolidate the policy of rapprochement between North and South Korea and open up North Korea to the international community.

In calling for the normalisation of relations between the European Union and North Korea, we did not mean to imply that we recognised a political regime which is a far cry from the fundamental values which we preach; we meant to imply that we support the so-called sunshine policy which President Kim Du-Yung has inaugurated with much courage and determination, because we realised that, without the active support of the international community, this policy would be doomed to failure in the long term and would quickly run out of steam in the short term.

That is why we appreciate the efforts being made by the Council and the Commission to achieve normalisation with a view to laying down coherent lines of action as regards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

I was interested to note that the European Union insisted on extending the rapprochement initiated with South Korea and the commitments made to it to Pyongyang. We have always insisted that the entire nation should have access to foreign aid and that NGOs should be able to work in satisfactory conditions. Other measures, such as granting visas and working facilities to European journalists would help to create the trust needed to put this rapprochement on a more stable footing.

I should like to close simply by saying that we must not overlook the fact that the process initiated will be long and gradual but that it is important in order to maintain the peace in this part of the world on which our own stability and security also depend.