EU: European Union leaders gave their "clear support" to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan during a meeting with him in Brussels yesterday.
"Kofi Annan can be sure that the European Union is a partner for him and the United Nations," said Mr Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which currently holds the EU Presidency.
Mr Annan was invited to the European Council to meet EU leaders following a call by some members of the US Congress for him to resign over allegations of corruption in the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, insisted that the Secretary-General's personal integrity was "not in any doubt", saying: "The Secretary-General heard first-hand the very strong support that exists for the UN reform process and for him personally in the EU."
Mr Balkenende said: "We are very glad, Secretary-General, that you are here, that you notice our support, and we wish you all the best in your activities and attempts for a better world."
He added: "There was clear support for the Secretary-General because we all realise he is very effective."
While US President George W. Bush has declined to state his support for Mr Annan since the calls for his resignation were made, the US Ambassador to the UN, Mr John Danford, has said: "We are not suggesting or pushing for [ Mr Annan's] resignation."
Mr Annan said yesterday that he was taking the allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food programme very seriously and was awaiting the outcome of an inquiry. The investigating team had a "free hand and was getting the co-operation of the UN", he added.
Mr Annan thanked the EU leaders for the invitation to meet them, saying that their discussions had centred on the development of EU/UN relations, including peacekeeping and conflict-resolution and the recent report on reform of the UN.
The reforms he had outlined in this report would strengthen the multi-lateral framework of the UN and he hoped that world leaders, at a summit meeting next September, would agree to them, thus "bringing the UN into the 21st century".
"There is a lot of work to be done between now and then and I am very heartened by the positive reception to the report by EU leaders," Mr Annan said.
Commenting on claims that Rwandan troops had entered the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Annan ruled out sanctions against Rwanda, saying that UN troops there were "doing their best" while giving an assurance that the UN would continue to monitor the situation.
Mr Annan could not say whether the UN would push for another vote on the reunification of Cyprus, following rejection by the Greek Cypriots earlier this year of a UN plan to resolve the issue. But he said that he would follow the situation and that his "good offices remained open" should both sides wish to revive the talks.