BRDO, Slovenia—The European Union exposed its differences on Friday over how to respond to China's suppression of Tibetan protests, with divergences over whether ministers should attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics.
Britain, host of the 2012 Olympic Games, said Prime Minister Gordon Brown would definitely be present, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly mooted the possibility of a boycott.
Germany said Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not plan to attend the opening ceremony in August but stressed there was no Tibet connection and that this was usual procedure for Germany.
"I don't think we will have a boycott on our agenda," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said as foreign ministers of the 27-nation bloc began a two-day meeting due to discuss on Saturday a joint response to the events in Tibet.
Several EU ministers took refuge in a wait-and-see position. European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said there were still five months to go, and a judgment could depend on the circumstances on Tibet and on media freedom.
China's quashing of the pro-independence protests in Tibet has prompted mounting calls from human rights campaigners and intellectuals for European leaders to stay away from the Games.
Germany's Steinmeier said neither he, Merkel nor Berlin's sports minister had in any case planned to go to the opening ceremony, telling reporters: "In that sense, there has been nothing to cancel."
"Saying 'no' to the Olympics just to ease one's conscience helps neither the people in China nor the sports federations," he added.
Berlin said German Sports Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble planned to travel to the Olympics from August 17-18 and President Horst Koehler would attend the paralympics in Beijing afterwards.
"There was never any plan for Chancellor Merkel or Foreign Minister Steinmeier to attend the Olympics," German government spokesman Thomas Steg told a regular news conference.
No Influence
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters: "We are fully engaged in supporting the Olympics. We want to see it as a success, and I think it's right that the prime minister represents us."
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said his country's sports minister would attend the inauguration to support the Swedish team and dismissed the effectiveness of boycotts.
"I remember back in 1980 when people thought they were going to force the Soviets out of Afghanistan by boycotting the Olympics (in Moscow). It had no influence whatsoever," he said.
Some senior EU politicians, including European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, have mooted a boycott of the prestigious opening ceremony, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this week he did not plan to attend that event.
The official EU line so far has been to call for restraint and urge China to open a dialogue on cultural rights with the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing has accused of inciting the riots.
Diplomats said it was not clear how much further ministers would go when they discuss the issue on Saturday to respond to public pressure to step up criticism of Beijing while bearing in mind lucrative trade and investment ties with China.
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