Spring hails Clinton move on US act

THE Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the decision of President Clinton to waive part of the Helms Burton legislation as a "useful step". But the EU would continue to press for the repeal of all extra territorial aspects of the legislation, Mr Spring told MEPs in Strasbourg.

At a press conference later Mr Spring refused to be drawn on specific retaliatory measures if more visas were denied to European businesses. He said he believed Mr Clinton's decision represented an important "turn around" in US-EU relations. The move on Monday by EU foreign ministers to prepare retaliatory action, he believed, played an important part in Mr Clinton's decision.

The Helms Burton legislation allows international companies and individuals to face legal action in the US if they have assets in Cuba or trade with Cuba. Mr Clinton on Tuesday announced he would suspend for six months part of the act which allows individuals to sue companies to recover from them the value of assets seized by the Cuban government. But he did not suspend application of new visa regulations or other extra territorial aspects of the act.

Mr Spring was in Strasbourg as president of the General Affairs Council to present the Irish EU Presidency programme to MEPs.

The emphasis, he said, was on the concerns of citizens", secure jobs, safe streets, sound money and a peaceful Europe. And on crime he spoke of how the destructiveness of the drugs trade had been particularly "brought home to us in Ireland very recently by the shooting dead of a brave journalist who had fearlessly investigated criminal wrongdoing".

"Veronica Guerin's murder is testimony to the power of words and truth. She uncovered evil. Evil people murdered her. The expressions of grief in Ireland and beyond at her murder bring home the need to pursue with even greater vigour the evil people who perpetrate these deeds."

Speaking for the largest group in parliament, the socialists, Mrs Bernie Malone welcomed the programme of the presidency "at a time of exceptional challenges".

She said the key issue was to get "concrete results", specifically on the controversial funding for Trans European Networks, and, on the drugs front, the creation of a European Coastguard Service. Ms Malone said her group was convinced Ireland would deliver on its programme and "give the lie to the view that small countries cannot handle the presidency".

Ms Mary Banotti (FG/PPE) said it was an ambitious programme whose main thrusts on jobs and the fight against drugs she supported. Unless the citizens were involved in the Union its very survival was threatened, she said, And the openness and toleration of the EU was now also dependent on the Union's ability to deal with the drugs problem.

Mr Gerry Collins (FE/Union for Europe) also emphasised the need for increased co operation on the Union's external frontiers. The most effective method of transferring resources to the Union's external frontiers to combat drug smugglers," he said, "is by making money available in the annual budget of the Union for upgrading of equipment and training of agencies such as the Irish Naval Service and gardai."

He deplored the absence of such funding in 1996 and called on the Irish presidency to bring forward proposals to amend the 1997 budget to allow this to be done.

Mr Gijs de Vries, leader of the Liberal group, the ELDP, called on the presidency to take the lead in seeking a new mandate for Ifor in Bosnia that would allow it to seek out and arrest the Bosnian Serb leaders, Dr Radovan Karadzic and Gen Ratko Mladic.

The leader of the left green GUE group, Mr Alonso Puerta, said he welcomed the fighting spirit of Mr Spring's commitment to advance the IGC. But he warned on monetary union that his group would oppose any attempt to link structural fund payments to adherence to the Maastricht convergence criteria.

Ms Nuala Ahern (Green) called on the presidency to fight for the right of nations not to be polluted by the nuclear emissions of neighbours and to forge a coalition of nuclear free states.