Villepin: EU needs to unite in opinions in order to be strong

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who is currently on an official trip to Prague, met with senior Czech politicians on Monday to lobby for a stronger Europe. Speaking in the Senate, Mr Villepin said that Europe can not depend on one power to solve the problems of the world. It is therefore necessary to actively and ambitiously focus on the future of the EU as Europe needs to be strong and speak with one voice, in order to be comparable to the United States. Referring to a letter signed in January by eight senior European politicians, including former Czech President Vaclav Havel, backing the US pro-war stance on Iraq, Mr Villepin said such examples of disagreement in Europe should serve as a lesson to the EU to take the necessary steps to avoid division in the future.