Ambassador's Corner
WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM AMBASSADOR JOHN BRUTON
June 27, 2006
Last week’s Summit between the European Union and the United States in Vienna
was a heartening event for me to attend. It was even better than the Summit last
year in Washington. The participants on both sides were exceptionally relaxed
and listened closely to one another, gaining vital insights into the point of
view of the other side. As President Bush said, the United States and the
European Union are now working together on all the big issues. He described the
relationship as a complex one, where there are areas of agreement and also areas
requiring further work.
At the EU/US Summit, Left to Right: EU Common Foreign &
Security Policy High Representative Solana, US President Bush, EU Austrian
Presidency's Austrian Chancellor Schüssel & European Commission President
Barroso.
The only contrasting factor was that it was so hot in Vienna I almost felt I had
not left Washington at all.
The day started for me with a pre-summit
meeting of the
Transatlantic Business
Dialogue. This took place in Vienna’s impressive House of Industry, where the
historic State Treaty that gave Austria back its independence after the Second
World War was negotiated. The captains of industry and the representatives of
the European Union sat around the table under the watchful eye of a portrait of
the Emperor Franz Josef in his later years.
One of the business participants described the EU/US relationship as the most
stable
economic relationship in the world. The Austrian Minister for Economics
and Labor gave a detailed presentation on energy and climate change. Carbon
sequestration would be a vital technology but a lot of public education would be
required to get support for it.
Vice President
Verheugen of the European Commission said that economic change
would be getting faster and faster and political institutions would need to
become more adept in managing change. Notwithstanding reports of economic
nationalism in Europe, he said there have been an unprecedented number of
successful cross-border business mergers in the last five months. His aim was to
bring down the time needed to comply with the national administrative
requirements for setting up a new business in Europe to a mere seven days.
EU
Trade
Commissioner
Peter Mandelson gave an upbeat account of the prospects for a
successful conclusion of the
Doha Trade Round. There were major gains to be had
for the United States in industrial goods and services. The Round was not just
about agriculture.
The next meeting was a meeting to coordinate the EU approach to the Summit. This
took place in the office of the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel. Again
we met under the eye of the Emperor Franz Josef, but this time it was a younger
Emperor who was keeping his eye on our work in the Chancellor’s office. The
Chancellor reminded us that this was the 15th visit of President George Bush to
Europe during his term of office and said this displayed a real commitment on
his part to the relationship with the European Union.
The Summit itself took place in one of the ballrooms of the magnificent Hofburg
Palace. President Bush remarked that there were few rooms like this in Texas! In
fact the entire Hofburg complex is unique - now home to the President of
Austria, the Vienna Boys Choir and the Lipizzaner horses of the Spanish Riding
School, the whole complex was constructed over seven centuries and housed several
generations of the Hapsburg dynasty who left their architectural marks on it
along the way. It is, in fact, a bit like the European project--the product of
history, the culmination of different tastes and traditions, but overall a grand
and fantastic achievement.
Surrounded by all this elegance and history, President Bush addressed what he
sees as the central challenges of our age. He thanked the European Union for the
strong signal it had given to
Hamas that it needed to foreswear violence and
recognize Israel’s right to exist. He spoke of his determination to see the
Guantanamo Bay facility closed and outlined a scenario whereby that may be
achieved. He emphasized his commitment to developing new
energy technologies. He
hoped for major technological developments in regard to clean coal and battery
technology.
On the Europe Union side, President
Barroso also mentioned
climate change and
energy, and spoke of the need for the US to extend
Visa Waiver travel to all EU
countries. EU
External Relations Commissioner
Ferrero-Waldner
(pictured below to the right of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik) gave a detailed outline of the recently
negotiated
Temporary International Mechanism. This will channel funds to the
Palestinian territories to avoid a humanitarian disaster and keep health, energy
and water services running for the people. The negotiation of this mechanism is
a major personal achievement for Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and the result of
the very dedicated work on her part. She has rallied support for it in very
difficult circumstances.
The Summit also discussed the Trade Round, the Balkans,
Africa, Climate Change,
the United Nations,
Latin America and measures needed to prevent a
flu pandemic.
On trade, I felt that the US side listened exceptionally closely to what Peter
Mandelson said about ambiguities in the various offers and President Bush
remarked that a Trade Round, which opened up markets for them, could do more for
Africa than aid or debt relief.
This week I am visiting Seattle, and I will be there when you read this message.
I am looking forward to this visit. I will be meeting with Microsoft and Boeing,
two companies that have contributed enormously to economic progress worldwide. I
will also be meeting with the Governor of Washington State Christine Gregoire
and Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, the Seattle Trade Development Alliance, The
World Affairs Council, the Rotary Club, the Council of European Chambers of
Commerce and the Washington Council on International Trade.
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
Other
Weekly Messages
