Dalai Lama at the European Parliament

Commenting on the Dalai Lama's visit and address to the European Parliament, Greens/EFA Group Co-Presidents Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni said:  

"The European Parliament has consistently done all in its power to draw attention to issues in Tibet and to support the Dalai Lama's moderate position: genuine autonomy for the region, within the bounds of the Chinese constitution.

"The Greens, with the support of the rest of the European Parliament, have called on Council to nominate a special envoy for Tibetan affairs to closely follow relations between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese authorities.   "As the Dalai Lama said today, unity and harmony are only possible when there is trust and mutual respect. In the wake of the postponement of the EU-China summit, Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the Dalai Lama on 6 December in Poland. We call on him to do everything he can to encourage the Chinese authorities to reopen meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives, with the goal of an agreement between the two parties that leads to solid results."

Press Service of the Greens/EFA Group
in the European Parliament

Chris Coakley,
Press Officer,
The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
Tel: Brussels +32 2 2841667 / Strasburg +33 3 88174375
Mobile: +32-477-44-38-42
Fax: 0032 2 2844944
email: ccoakley@europarl.europa.eu