Mr. Chairman,

1. Permit me to take the floor on behalf of the EU as Austria is presently holding its presidency.

2. We have now gone a long way together in our attempt to establish an international permanent criminal court aiming at deterring the commission of the most heinous crimes and at eliminating a state of impunity for such crimes. The world needs such a court in view of the atrocities and cruelties committed daily on this planet earth -acts which humanity, however, is no longer prepared to tolerate or leave unpunished.

3. Decades ago the first steps were made in this direction, many obstacles had to be overcome to reach the present situation. Our work has been based on a draft submitted by the ILC, was discussed andrevised in the course of several weeks, if not months, of the Ad-Hoc Committee, in the Preparatory Committee and, here in Rome, at the conference. In this context, we want to reiterate our gratitude to Mr. Adriaan Bos for his invaluable work and his extraordinary personal contribution without which we could not have reached the point where we are now.

4. From the very outset, the EU has committed itself to the creation of this permanent judicial institution which would make the world a more just, safer and more peaceful place. The EU has always affirmed that we need a Court in which we could have faith; the Statute of such a Court must be generally acceptable so that it can become an effective institution. Only this week, the EU Council of Ministers, in its conclusions, emphasised the importance of a successful agreement on a credible court.

5. The task we embarked on was of historical importance; somebody spoke of a new page of international relations we were about to turn and of an event comparable to the foundation of the UN. A considerable number of thorny and extremely sensitive issues have been resolved at this conference -issues which are linked with the exercise of national criminal jurisdiction, with matters of national security and sovereignty. Concessions have been made from all sides in order to reach a consensus.

6. This consensus led to the result we have now in front of us and for which the international community has striven already for centuries. Hence, we can speak of an historic day in an , historic city, which today can be celebrated by adopting the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. And we can also say that the particular significance of the Court corresponds to the historic significance of this city.

7. The EU links with this statute the hope that brutality and ferocity which seemingly still commands human acts will be deterred and punished in future. We understand that not all aspirations connected with the elaboration of the Statute could be accommodated. However, we have to bear in mind, that the main objective, the establishment of an independent and effective Court, could be realised. By doing so, we seized the opportunity that history has given to us and ensured that the Court becomes a reality.

8. Many difficult legal issues of highly political and extremely technically legal nature had to be solved. As it is said that Rome was not built in one day, also the elaboration of this Statute needed its time. Delegates of 162 States and officers of the Conference devoted days and nights to this task. Everybody at this Conference made every effort to bridge the gap between opposing views and to reach a positive result even at the last minute. We recognise that the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Ambassador Ph. Kirsch, did his utmost to achieve this end. The EU has always expressed its full support to him and the procedure envisaged by him which in our view was the most appropriate to produce a positive result. And indeed, Ambassador Kirsch together with his Bureau and the co-ordinators..have put forward solutions for all these complicated and complex issues, which meet our satisfaction. In this regard, mention should be made of such political matters like the definition of crimes and of the conditions for the exercise ofjurisdiction, and of complicated issues such as those of the complementarity, the composition of the Court, the general principles of criminal law, the procedure, the co-operation with the court, and others such as financing. That the last step to an overall solution could be made, is certainly due to their untiring efforts. Our thanks go also to the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Prof. Sherif Bassiouni, who together with his Committee despite the severe time constraints under which they had to work succeeded in finding the appropriate legal formulations foithe entire text. We also acknowledge also the role of the NG0s in the preparatory phase and their contribution to bring the Conference to a successful conclusion.

9. Mr. President, when we are now after the ceremony at the Campidoglio leaving this city, we are well aware that not all our tasks have been accomplished. We have still to prepare other instruments within the preparatory commission as well as the ratification in a sufficient number so that the Court can start its work. The EU stand ready to do its utmost to contribute to the accomplishment of this task. Nevertheless, the Statute of the ICC has been agreed upon, it is now open for the States to make the Court work. In this sense we can indeed say: Roma locuta, causa finita (When Rome has spoken, the task is accomplished)

10. Finally, let me thank the Italian Government for the generous hospitality it has offered to us during this conference; this generosity provided the basis for an excellent environment for our work. Likewise, we want to express our gratitude to you, Prof. Conso, for all the efforts you have made as our President with a view of making this Conference a success. I would also like to express our gratitude to the Secretariat, the interpreters and the Conference staff for their invaluable support in our work.