U.S-European Relationship Being Re-Focused, Re-Invigorated

(State Dept.'s Charles Ries in Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 23) (3260)



"The shadow of the September 11th terrorist attacks has given a new
urgency to American diplomatic relations with Europe.... Beyond the
sadness we have all shared over the past few weeks, what is emerging
today is a new and highly energized working relationship... the result
of many years of diplomatic spadework and precipitated by a genuine
world crisis," says the State Department's Charles P. Ries.


Ries is the principal deputy assistant secretary of State for European
and Eurasian affairs, and his remarks were prepared for delivery to
the Southern Center for International Studies' annual seminar on
Europe October 23 in Atlanta, Georgia.


He said the foundation of the U.S.-European working relationship
remains the 1995 New Transatlantic Agenda, and he described how the
NTA has undergone a re-thinking in the past year with the goal of
bringing "a new sense of focus and purpose" to the relationship.


In addition to "internal" changes, such as clarifying responsibilities
and simplifying structures, Ries also mentioned changes made in NATO
as the alliance has taken an increasingly pro-active stance on
conflict prevention and has increased its cooperation with the
European Union.


"This reinvigoration and re-focusing of our European relationships
took on new meaning on September 11," he said. "The vicious terrorist
attacks that took place on that terrible day prompted an immediate and
forceful response from our Allies and friends and new evidence of
enduring ties and common values between the U.S. and Europe."


The American people were comforted by expressions of support and
concern from individuals and organizations representing all spectrums
of European opinion, Ries said, and he noted that many Europeans were
among the more than 5,000 persons who perished or are still missing.


He emphasized that the response to terrorism is not a war against
Islam or the people of Afghanistan, and said the United States has
consistently been the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the
Afghan people.


Since the beginning of the military action against the Taliban regime
and the al Qaida network, Ries said, the United States has air-dropped
more than 700,000 humanitarian daily rations to the Afghan people,
which he said represents "a unique gesture of concern in the annals of
modern military conflict."


Following is the prepared text of Ries' remarks in Atlanta:



(begin text)



U.S. Department of State

Washington, D.C.



REMARKS OF CHARLES P. RIES

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EUROPEAN AND
EURASIAN AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

TO THE SOUTHERN CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ANNUAL SEMINAR ON
EUROPE


Atlanta, Georgia

October 23, 2001



As prepared for delivery 



Thank you, Dr. Suzman, Joe Johnson of Fulton County and Dr. Murphy of
the EU Center for your warm welcome. I am pleased to be here today to
address your 6th annual Seminar on Europe. I especially appreciate a
return invitation because last year I had to declare "force majeure"
and back out of speaking to the 5th annual seminar, asking my deputy
Dick Morford to come instead. ... I guess I really didn't understand
then what "force majeure" was all about. This year, however, I was
determined to come, in part because I had cancelled last year, and in
part because the current international crisis makes our relations with
Europe all the more important.


In this regard, let me commend the Southern Center for International
Studies and your partners at the EU Center of the University System of
Georgia, the Georgia Tech Center for International Business Education
and Research and the Fulton County Department of Economic Development
for your sustained and serious interest in the relationship between
the United States and Europe. You have long recognized the links
between the transatlantic relationship and our national security, our
economic growth and the promotion of human rights and democratic
values worldwide. What you have long understood, Americans are coming
to rediscover.


Many of my State Department predecessors and colleagues have come to
address this seminar, and this is one of the foremost centers of
European scholarship in the United States. I don't therefore plan to
recite the many threads of our current policy towards the EU, the
significance of transatlantic trade and investment, or the other
standards of such presentations.


I thought rather that I would concentrate on transatlantic reactions
to the horrible events of September 11. I do so not only because of
its newsworthiness, but because our common commitment to the fight
against terrorism represents the best of the U.S.-EU relationship and
"all that it can be."


The shadow of the September 11th terrorist attacks has given a new
urgency to American diplomatic relations with Europe. It has
galvanized our country and changed the context of and diplomatic
relationships worldwide.


Beyond the sadness we have all shared over the past few weeks, what is
emerging today is a new and highly energized working relationship
between Europe and the United States, the result of many years of
diplomatic spadework and precipitated by a genuine world crisis that
we all face today.


Reconstituting the Relationship



With the EU, the foundation of our working relationship remains the
1995 New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA). Over the past year, however, we
recognized that the NTA had become a bit tatty. Meetings were all
about process. We had semi-annual Summits with the European Union, but
little was accomplished and the press justly ignored them. Trade
disputes proliferated and were seldom resolved.


Beginning last year during the French Presidency and gathering
strength during the Swedish Presidency, we took a hard look at how we
do things with the European Union and resolved to bring a new sense of
focus and purpose to the relationship. Many of the changes were
internal -- clarifying responsibilities and simplifying structures.
The U.S. was interested, for example, in having more access to member
states in an EU context, recognizing that the scope of common policies
continued to increase. And we agreed on the need to bring some
coherence to what the U.S.-EU relationship stood for in the wider
world.


In another part of Brussels, NATO continued its transformation into
the globe's pre-eminent security organization. In the past two years
the Alliance took an increasingly pro-active stance to conflict
prevention and began to cooperate closely with the EU, even while it
prepared for further enlargement. The conflict prevention potential
and synergies between the EU and NATO were evident as NATO Secretary
General Robertson and EU High Representative Solana worked hand in
glove this summer to avert a third Balkan war in Macedonia.


The President's first trip to Europe this past June represented the
unveiling of the new approach and laid the groundwork for our present
cooperation against terrorism. The President began his June trip to
Europe in Madrid to reinforce our growing bilateral relationship with
Spain and the continued relevance of our bilateral relationships
generally. The President then met with NATO heads of government in
Brussels, once again marking NATO as the cornerstone of transatlantic
security. The leaders agreed in Brussels that the next step in NATO
enlargement would be taken next year in Prague.


After NATO, the President took part in the U.S.-EU Summit in Goteborg,
Sweden, issuing with the EU a statement that embodies our new focussed
approach. The Swedes also hosted an historic dinner for the President
with all 15 EU member state leaders, consistent with our theme of
meeting more often with member states in an EU context. All this is of
course without any intention of undermining our ongoing bilateral
relationships.


The rest of that first trip was important too. In Warsaw, the
President made a major address signaling that NATO enlargement should
not be "as little we can get away with," but as large as we can
arrange. In Slovenia, President Bush met the first time with [Russian]
President Putin and began work on a new strategic framework.


September 11 and its Immediate Aftermath



This reinvigoration and re-focussing of our European relationships
took on new meaning on September 11. The vicious terrorist attacks
that took place on that terrible day prompted an immediate and
forceful response from our Allies and friends and new evidence of
enduring ties and common values between the U.S. and Europe.


The American people were deeply touched by the expressions of support
and offers of assistance from world leaders after the attack. We were
comforted by the popular expressions of support and concern expressed
by individuals and organizations representing all spectrums of
European opinion. There were religious and public ceremonies in nearly
every European capital. People spontaneously brought flowers and
candles to impromptu memorials, many near our embassies.


Of course September 11 was more than just an attack on America.
Citizens of some 80 nations -- including many, many Europeans -- are
among the more than 5000 individuals who perished or are missing as a
result of the terrorist attacks. This is truly a world tragedy.


As the President has made clear, we shall not rest until al Qaida, and
the terrorist networks that cooperate with it, are destroyed. We also
will hold the states that support or harbor terrorists responsible for
their actions. This is not a war against Islam or the people of
Afghanistan. In fact, the United States has been consistently the
largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Since
the beginning of the military action against the Taliban and al Qaida
we have been air-dropping humanitarian assistance -- over 700,000
daily rations thus far -- to the Afghan people. This represents a
unique gesture of concern in the annals of modern military conflict.


Traditional Friends/Allies and Aspirants



Europeans leaders rightly recognized September 11 as a call to action.
On September 12, our NATO allies immediately agreed that if the
attacks were proven to have been directed from abroad, they should be
regarded as covered by NATO's Article V -- the "collective defense"
clause in the NATO Treaty. This made a big impression on the American
people: our NATO allies pledged military support for the United States
while fires still burned at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.
We subsequently demonstrated the link between the attacks and the al
Qaida network and our NATO allies immediately offered military and
intelligence assets of all kinds to aid our effort. Today, in fact,
AWACS planes belonging to -- and flown by the crews of -- our NATO
allies are in the skies above the United States, freeing up U.S. AWACS
planes for action in southwest Asia.


Many European leaders and foreign ministers visited the United States
in the wake of the attack. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's
presence in the gallery as President Bush addressed a joint session of
Congress on September 13 was a major symbolic gesture to the American
people that we would not be alone in the months ahead.


Germany was among the first of our allies to take action by helping
the United States to investigate the terror attacks, pursuing and
arresting several suspected conspirators. France also moved quickly to
arrest conspirators allegedly planning to attack our Embassy in Paris.
Switzerland and every other European country froze suspected al Qaida
assets.


The NATO aspirant countries also have all fully pledged their support
for the coalition against terror. Their willingness to embrace this
major Alliance agenda shows they recognize the responsibilities of
collective action as expressed in the Washington Treaty.


For old EU hands, the European Union's response was breathtaking in
its speed and ambition. On September 12, the Belgian Presidency called
together the foreign ministers of the 15 member nations to issue a
statement of full solidarity with the U.S. and -- even more
importantly -- called together the Justice and Home Affairs and
Transport Councils the following week in an action designed to push
through new legislation and initiatives to improve the EU's ability to
join in the fight against terrorism.


These Councils met and their work has been approved by no fewer than
two Summit meetings since September 12, the most recent of which took
place just this weekend. The EU has fast-tracked legislation to
provide for a common EU arrest warrant, to establish
intelligence-sharing police and prosecutors' centers in Brussels, and
to allow the EU to freeze financial assets related to terrorism (in
the meantime, most EU countries froze assets on a national level,
including nearly $100 million belonging to the Taliban regime).
European transport officials are working with us to improve aviation
security worldwide, including improved cockpit doors and airport
safety measures.


Secretary Powell met September 20 with Louis Michel, his Belgian
counterpart, Javier Solana, and Chris Patten to discuss
counter-terrorism cooperation. We agreed then on an agenda for action.
Following the first European Summit on the subject September 21,
Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt and Commission President Prodi
traveled to the U.S. to meet with President Bush and present the EU
conclusions. Verhofstadt emotionally told the President that 45 years
ago America was there for Europe, and today Europe is "there for" the
U.S.


There is of course much to be done to build the anti-terrorism
coalition and solidify its U.S.-European core. In fact, I have to rush
back to Washington today to prepare for an important senior-level
coordinators' meeting on the subject tomorrow morning. But there is
little doubt that the tenor and effectiveness of U.S.-EU cooperation
against terrorism has been fundamentally changed.


Bringing the "Spirit of September 12" to the Rest of the Agenda



I mentioned at the outset the "spadework" we had done over the past
year to improve the productivity and focus of our European
relationships. We are applying many of the lessons we learned to the
current crisis. But beyond the counter-terrorism dossier, we have much
to do in cooperation with our European friends, and much to resolve in
the way of ongoing differences. Our challenge, therefore, is to bring
the "Spirit of September 12th" to the rest of the agenda.


So although the fight against terrorism will be in the headlines in
the months ahead, there are many other issues on which we will need to
cooperate just as effectively. On trade, for example, US Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick has been working well with Pascal Lamy,
his European Commission counterpart. Together they have found a
negotiated solution to the long-running and bitter dispute over the
discriminatory aspects of the EU banana regime, and our WTO-authorized
trade sanctions have ended as a result. Lamy and Zoellick are now
working urgently with trade ministers worldwide to find a sound basis
for launching a global Round of trade negotiations at Doha next month.
The Round assumed even more importance in the aftermath of September
11, as the world economy badly needs the stimulus to growth that would
follow the elimination of trade barriers.


We also need to bring a new focus to resolving other U.S.-EU trade
disputes, and avoiding new ones. We are concerned, for example, about
continuing European superstition that prevents acceptance of new
biotech derived crop varieties. Under public pressure, the EU has
refused to approve any new biotech varieties since 1998, despite the
fact that research elsewhere in the world has demonstrated that such
techniques can produce crops that are naturally resistant to pests,
take less fertilizer and water to grow, and are more nutritious. We
think the time has come for the EU to resume scientific review of
biotech products and approve those for which there are no human health
or environmental drawbacks.


On the foreign policy agenda, September 11 has reinforced other
lessons. One is that the existence of instability and especially of
"failed states" anywhere in the world can have a serious impact on our
security. U.S.-European cooperation was at the heart of the effort to
prevent ethnic hatred and warfare from permanently endangering
security in the Balkans. Our principal task now is to nurture the
reconciliation process to ensure long-term stability and the region's
integration with the rest of Europe and the broader global community.
We must also persevere in the bringing to justice of war criminals
through the tribunal in The Hague. Otherwise unresolved issues of
justice from the last conflict will be the seeds of the next one.


Another inescapable lesson from September 11 is that the security of
the transatlantic community is fundamentally indivisible. We therefore
need to bring the "spirit of September 12" to the task of crafting a
permanent relationship between the European Security and Defense
Identity (now known as ESDP) and the North Atlantic Alliance. The
President stated clearly on his European trip and before that the US
supports an ESDP that is firmly rooted in NATO.


After September 11, theological arguments that prevented pragmatic
solutions to the various issues between the Alliance as a whole and
the EU's Rapid Reaction Force seem to be even less important. The need
for enhanced European defense capabilities -- one of the purposes of
the exercise -- is even more important. It is our hope therefore that
the theological and practical issues can be worked out soon, and
before any "daylight" develops between NATO and ESDP in addressing the
urgent security challenges of our time.


Environment unfortunately became a focus for U.S.-EU disagreement last
spring. European environmentalists characterized the President's
principled objections to the Kyoto Protocol's provisions as hostility
to the very idea of confronting the challenge of climate change. They
did not hear, or did not believe, the Administration's commitment to
addressing climate change in an international framework and to doing
so in an effective, global way. At the Goteborg US-EU Summit, and
later at the G-8 in Genoa, we began to get a dialogue on these issues.
The President has found a receptive European response to his
initiative on climate change research. We now hope to begin a
constructive dialogue on solutions directly with the EU, as was
foreseen at Goteborg. When you have a problem that may take a century
to solve, it is important to get the groundwork right.


The Living Agenda



So as you can see, there is much to do, both in the war against
terrorism, and drawing strength from it, on the broader agenda. There
will be disappointments and setbacks in both areas. The President has
said the struggle against international terrorist networks will be
long and clear victories will be few and perhaps unseen. I think we
also need to guard especially against the consequences of success --
the inevitable letdown in our vigilance out of a yearning for business
as it used to be.


Those of us in government count on you, the academic and business
communities, to help provide needed perspectives on our times as well
as practical solutions for contemporary problems. We are particularly
interested in assuring that our U.S.-European relationships remain
flexible, efficient and focused on real priority issues.


I am confident that the days ahead will bring out the best in each of
us and provide new demonstrations of our friendship and partnership,
even as we are called to deal with a variety of complex issues and
differences. It is a partnership that emerged from the ashes of a
previous war and that is destined only to grow stronger as we face
today's battle.


The period ahead looks somber and dangerous, yet we see opportunity as
well. Europe and the United States are again joined in a major
alliance that protects not only our people but also our way of life
and basic values. We shall triumph. And we shall do it together.


Thank you very much.



(end text)



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