Ambassador's Corner
WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM AMBASSADOR JOHN BRUTON
December 12, 2005
SIIM KALLAS
This week we are welcoming the Vice President of the European Commission,
Siim
Kallas [pictured below, left] to Washington. Siim has been Prime Minister
(2003-2004), Finance Minister (1999-2002) and Foreign Minister (1996-1999) of
his native country, Estonia. Previous to all that, he was President of the
Central Bank and was responsible for establishing Estonia’s independent
currency.
He is a graduate of the University of Tartu, a university in Estonia that was
founded in 1632 by the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus.
Siim has played a key role in modernizing and liberalizing the Estonian economy.
GDP per capita has almost doubled in Estonia since 1999, rising from €3,799 to
€6,703 per head in 2004. Foreign investment in the country has more than doubled
in that period, and inflation is running at about 3%. Estonia is a European
Union success story, and Siim Kallas is an architect of that success.
In the European Commission he is responsible for
Administration, Audit and Anti-Fraud. The focus of his visit to Washington
will be on sharing experience with the World Bank on how to prevent fraud in
international institutions. Striking the right balance between accountability
and efficiency is never easy but it is particularly difficult in multinational
institutions where many different cultures and administrative traditions come
together.
METHAMPHETAMINES
Last week, I met with the National Association of Counties of America. Counties
are a very important unit of US government. Some US counties, like Los Angeles
County, have budgets that are bigger than many countries. Some counties are very
small. Loving County, Texas, has only 67 residents.
The counties act within powers conferred upon them by the legislatures of their
states, so the work they do varies from state to state. They usually have a very
big role in law enforcement through their police and prison services. In this
context, the National Association of Counties has prepared a survey on the
drastic effect of the epidemic of methamphetamines in the United States. The
European Union monitors trends on drug consumption and seizures including those
of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). The recent
annual report by the
European Monitoring
Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction identifies methamphetamines as the most
important ATS in terms of quantities manufactured and trafficked worldwide. The
European Union also operates controls on the export of chemical
precursors that could be used in the manufacture of methamphetamines and
other controlled substances. This is an area in which the US authorities and the
EU may be able to work together.
A MOVIE WITH A MESSAGE
One of the things that has struck me since coming to the United States is the
vast range of films one can choose to watch on any night on television. The only
downside of this is that you rarely meet someone the next day who watched the
same film you did the night before, so you don’t get much chance to talk about
what you thought of what you saw!
Last weekend I watched a BBC TV drama, entitled “Dirty War,” directed by David
Percival and released last year. It was a gripping, yet understated and
informative dramatization of the possible impact of the ignition of a terrorist
dirty bomb in London. Such an event remains improbable. It is best prevented by
tight screening at ports of entry of all countries that might be smuggling
radioactive material. We also need to monitor all domestic uses of radioactive
material.
The European Union is working with the United States on these and a range of
other
terrorist prevention measures.
Please send me your
comments about this or any of my weekly messages or other EU matters. I
look forward to hearing from you!
John Bruton
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