Billy Kelleher: Europe must defend international rules
Billy Kelleher, MEP, addresses the crisis in the Middle East and the Iranian regime, warning that Europe faces direct consequences if it abandons multilateralism. He argues that respect for the UN Charter and a rules-based international order is essential and that unilateral actions risk destabilising Europe.
Main argument: Kelleher sets out a clear choice for European policy: either defend the international rules-based order or accept its abandonment. He condemns the Iranian regime but insists that responses must be assessed against the standards of the UN Charter and international law.
Implications for Europe: Kelleher highlights concrete risks for the EU, from attacks on member-state sovereignty to displacement flows and regional instability. He points to recent incidents affecting Cyprus and warns that Europe, not distant actors, will shoulder the long-term consequences for Ukraine and the Middle East if multilateral norms are eroded.
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Nobody will shed tears for the mad theocracy and brutal dictatorship that is the Iranian regime and we sincerely hope that it would fall immediately and that the people around would be able to decide its future. But we are at a crossroads here in terms of a number of things from the European perspective. First and foremost, are we going to acquiesce to the abandonment of multilateralism and international rules based order? Because we are a rules based order here in the European Union and we claim to live by the UN Charter and international law. It is clearly evident that what is happening in the Middle East is not within the confines of the UN Charter. So at least be honest with ourselves, we either are going to accept international rules based order and defend it or else we are going to abandon it. President Trump has acted unilaterally on a number of occasions. From the point of view of the European Union, we have had a situation with regard to an attack on the sovereignty of a member state in terms of Denmark. We have had a situation where we have had on off support for Ukraine from President Trump. This is a war that is at our front in the Eastern Front and simply we are the ones that will be faced with either the success or failure of Ukraine and equally in the context of the Middle East. It will be Europe that will be the ones that will be most likely affected. We have already seen an attack on Cyprus itself. The displacement of people, if the displacement of people starts from the Middle East, they will end up in Europe and these are the real questions that we have to ask ourselves when we are talking about the UN Charter, multilateralism and the respect for international law. Clearly I believe that this particular war in the Middle East is not within those confines. Thank you very much.
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