By Sabine Siebold and Robin Emmott
BRUSSELS, Dec 13 (Reuters) – France and the Netherlands are trying to find a common European Union approach on the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, but a decision is unlikely to be reached anytime soon, they said. Monday diplomats and foreign ministers.
The bloc is divided over whether to join the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom in deciding not to send authorities to the Games in February due to concerns about China’s human rights record.
“They know as well as I do that we will not find a solution in relation to the Olympic Games today or this week,” declared Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn before discussions between EU foreign ministers.
EU leaders are also scheduled to debate the issue at their last summit of the year, on Thursday. Paris and The Hague have formally placed the debate on the agenda, according to diplomats.
EU sources say Hungary, China’s closest ally in the bloc, would never support a diplomatic boycott, but there could be a consensus among the remaining 26 members.
Lithuania, which says it faces a Chinese trade blockade for strengthening ties with Taiwan, is one of the strongest advocates of a common position.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said last week that Paris should take a common position with other European Union capitals, and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock has supported that view.
Austrian Alexander Schallenberg was “very much in favor of a joint EU position”, but seemed to shy away from any diplomatic boycott.
“We have a clear position on the human rights situation in China, but I don’t think it is useful to let the Olympics artificially turn into a political event,” he said.
The hesitation reflects the EU’s attempt to find a middle way between the rivalry between the United States and China.
The bloc is internally divided over Beijing, with countries like Hungary benefiting from its generosity. China is also the second largest trading partner of the EU and many large German companies are reluctant to see their investments jeopardized.
However, in April the EU joined the United States and the United Kingdom in imposing sanctions on Chinese human rights officials, jeopardizing a new investment pact between the EU and China after Beijing responded with its own. sanctions.
(Report by Sabine Siebold and Robin Emmott, translated by José Muñoz in the Gdansk newsroom. Edited by Javier Leira)