FRANCE:France could rejoin Nato's integrated military command if there is progress towards an independent European defence capability and Paris wins a leading role in Nato's command structure, President Nicolas Sarkozy has told a US paper.
In an interview with the New York Timesyesterday, Mr Sarkozy said that these two conditions must be met before France would consider rejoining the military command structure it left more than 40 years ago.
"I would make progress on European defence a condition for moving into the integrated command, and I am asking our American friends to understand that," he said.
"A Europe capable of defending itself independently would not be a risk for the Americans; it would be an asset."
Charles de Gaulle took France out of Nato's integrated military command in 1966 after a dispute over US dominance of the alliance, although France remained a member and sends troops on Nato missions such as those in Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Mr Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, tried to rejoin the integrated military command a decade ago but Washington rejected the conditions he set, including putting a European in charge of Nato's southern command, which includes the Mediterranean.
Mr Sarkozy did not specify the new role France wants in Nato's command structure but made clear that it would have to be very significant. "It is obvious that if we were to envisage such a move, it could only happen in as much as space was made in the leadership, at the highest level, for representatives of France," he said.
In a speech in Toulouse earlier this month, French defence secretary Hervé Morin complained that Paris does not reap the full benefits of Nato, despite being one of the alliance's biggest contributors, adding that Europe's military strategy cannot advance if France does not clarify its position within Nato.
A French return to Nato's military command would have little practical impact but it would send an important signal about France's commitment to Nato as more than a political alliance.
Mr Sarkozy stressed, however, that a bigger role for France in Nato would not come at the expense of France's commitment to an independent European defence, which will be a priority of its EU presidency next year.
"Regardless of Nato's importance, Europe must be able to defend itself effectively and independently. Europe cannot be an economic power without ensuring its own security," he said.
"This is in fact a very serious problem for Europe, the fact that really only four countries are contributing to Europe's security: Britain, Germany, Italy, France - and Spain to a small extent. That's it. It's a serious problem. You can't have only four or five countries ensuring the security of 27," he said.
Mr Sarkozy is in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, where he said Iran's nuclear programme was the most pressing issue and France's position was clear. "No nuclear weapon for Iran, an arsenal of sanctions to convince them, negotiations, discussions, firmness. And I don't want to hear anything else that would not contribute usefully to the discussion today," he said.
Mr Sarkozy's hawkish noises on Iran, his support for Israel and his decision to holiday in New England this summer has persuaded many in Washington that his presidency represents a new era of warm relations between the US and its oldest ally. He suggested yesterday that problems between France and the US may stem from the fact that both countries, unlike most other large states, believe their values are universal. "In the United States and France, we think our ideas are destined to illuminate the world. And perhaps that is the source of the competition between us."