The Tibet Intergroup of the European Parliament held a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 8 July 2003 to assess the relationship between the Tibetans in exile and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A resolution passed on 6 July 2000 by the European Parliament had called on the governments of member states of the European Union “to give serious consideration to the possibility of recognising the Tibetan Government in exile as the legitimate representative of the Tibetan people” if, within three years, China and the Tibetan government in exile had not signed an agreement on a new status for Tibet. The deadline expired on 6 July 2003, on the 68th birthday of the Dalai Lama. In view of the visits by two envoys of the Dalai Lama to China in September 2002 and May-June 2003, the Tibet Intergroup decided to observe the development of a possible Sino-Tibetan dialogue before taking further steps to implement the resolution.
In the meeting, chaired by the German parliamentarian and head of the Tibet Intergroup, Thomas Mann, the option of a new resolution by the European Parliament was maintained. However, it was also decided that in consideration of the two delegations’ visits and the positive contacts established with Chinese officials, no unnecessary pressure should be exerted. Instead, the Tibet Intergroup will discuss a further strategy to facilitate the dialogue process in a meeting to be held at the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on 24 September 2003. A public hearing on Tibet will also be organised in Brussels in November 2003.
Since the European Union has no common foreign policy, resolutions passed by the European Parliament have a binding effect on neither the European Commission, the executive organ of the Union, nor on the member states. However, as a body elected by direct universal suffrage, it represents 374 million Europeans, which gives its resolutions political weight. The resolution of July 2000, which went much further than any Tibet resolution in the national parliaments of the member states, had generated strong protests from the Chinese authorities and was also criticised by some European governments. In March 2002 a Chinese delegation led by Ragdi (Chin: Raidi), then Chairman of the People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), visited Brussels and promoted the legitimacy of the PRC’s rule in Tibet. The delegation met both Belgian and European parliamentarians.
