RI to ask compensation from EU
RI to ask compensation from EU
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday asked Germany to help resolve problems caused to Indonesian exports by the recent expansion of the European Union.
Speaking in Bonn at the launching of the Indonesia-Germany Economic and Technology Cooperation Forum, Soeharto said the inclusion of Austria, Finland and Sweden into the union had imposed quantitative restrictions on Indonesian exports.
"As Indonesia's largest trading partner in the European Union, Indonesia seeks Germany's support in resolving these problems," said Soeharto, a copy of whose speech was made available to The Jakarta Post by the presidential office.
The inclusion of the three countries since Jan.1 has forced Indonesia to reduce its exports, because the EU quota has remained unchanged.
The president is currently on a six-day state visit to Germany where he attended last Sunday's opening of the 1995 Hannover Fair. Indonesia has been selected as Germany's "country partner" for this year's fair.
The importance of the current trip has been highlighted by the presence of Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.
During yesterday's ceremony Soeharto said, in the presence of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, that the expansion of the EU should entail an expanded quota.
"Indonesia feels it must ask for satisfactory compensation from all parties, because the adjustment of the import tariffs of those three countries to the European Union's Common Tariff is detrimental to Indonesia," Soeharto said.
Soeharto and Kohl had a one-hour meeting yesterday in which they reportedly discussed both bilateral matters and international matters of mutual concern.
In a separate meeting, Alatas expressed concern to his German counterpart, Klaus Kinkel, about the newly-implemented Schengem agreement which dissolves visa requirements among the seven EU countries Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
A clause in the agreement provides that any one of the seven countries can, within seven-days of an application being made, veto the issuance of a visa.
Alatas said that Portugal, which has no diplomatic relations with Indonesia, might hinder the movements of Indonesians wishing to go to Germany.
Kinkel gave assurances that Germany would prevent such a thing from happening, Alatas said. "Even if it does occur, Germany has asserted that it would continue to issue visas on a bilateral basis," Alatas told reporters from the Indonesian television network, TVRI.
Other matters discussed include the planned EU-Asia summit and the impending extension of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
During an earlier meeting between the two foreign ministers on Monday, Kinkel urged Indonesia to do more to safeguard human rights. However, political vexation appeared to be minimal during yesterday's meeting.
"Minister Kinkel underscored that successful economic development in Indonesia must be accompanied by an improvement in the civil and human rights situation," read a German foreign ministry statement quoted by Reuters.
Later yesterday evening in Dusseldorf, Soeharto attended a dinner hosted by the minister president of Nordrhein Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Johannes Rau.
Tomorrow Soeharto will visit Dresden in eastern Germany where he will spend one day before flying to Kazakhstan. (mds)