BUSHS' EUROPE TRIP

Bush: America, Europe Stand Together for Peace, Prosperity
By VOA News 14 June 2008

US President George Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.U.S. President George Bush says America and Europe have agreed on numerous steps to promote peace and prosperity around the globe.Mr. Bush ends a two-week trip to Europe on Monday, after meeting with leaders in Slovenia, Germany, Italy, the Vatican, France and the United Kingdom.In his weekly radio address Saturday, Mr. Bush said leaders are working to complete a trade agreement, which he said would open up new markets for U.S. goods and services and help ease global poverty.Mr. Bush said leaders talked about diversifying energy supplies, reducing harmful gases that cause global warming and continuing to fight against AIDS and malaria in Africa.He said leaders agreed to fight global terror, pressure Iran to stop enriching uranium, and develop a shared missile defense system to protect against attacks in the Middle East.President Bush said leaders also agreed to press for two democratic states for Israel and Palestine and to protect young democracies in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush urges Europe to back Mideast vision JUNE 14,08

PARIS, France (CNN) -- President Bush on Friday urged Europeans to stand firm with the United States as it seeks to transform the Middle East.Bush delivers his speech in France in front of images of Paris landmarks.He compared the Middle Eastern transition Bush seeks to the one the U.S. helped engineer in Europe with the Marshall Plan after World War II.There are moments today when the situation in places like the Middle East can look as daunting as it did in Europe six decades ago. Yet we can have confidence that liberty will once again prevail, Bush said in the keynote speech of his European farewell tour.We can have confidence because men and women in the Middle East and beyond are determined to claim their liberty -- just as the people of Europe did in the last century, Bush said.Earlier in the day, Bush visited Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, touring the gardens through which the leader of the Roman Catholic Church walks each night.It was the second time this year the two men met, after Benedict's visit to the United States in April.

During previous stops in Italy, Germany and Slovenia, he has warned Iran it faces further isolation unless it suspends its nuclear program which the U.S. believes is geared to developing weapons rather than energy.First lady Laura Bush briefed the press aboard Air Force One for the first time ever during the flight from Italy to France.She spoke about her efforts on behalf of Afghanistan, which she visited over the weekend before an Afghan donors' conference.She said preliminary results indicated the conference had raised between $20 and $21 billion.And she pledged to keep up efforts on behalf of Afghanistan after Bush leaves office next year.

Obviously I'll have an interest in Afghanistan for the rest of my life and in the women and the children of Afghanistan and their success, she told reporters. And I know how fragile that success will be or can be ... It's going to take a long time for Afghanistan to build the kind of secure and safe country that will respect the rights of women and girls and boys.

Bush urges Europe to unite with U.S. ideals
Reuters, The Associated PressPublished: June 12, 2008

President George W. Bush is urging Europe to work with the United States on matters that extend beyond their trans-Atlantic ties, including securing peace in the Middle East, fighting radical Islamic terrorists and keeping Iran in check.Instead of dwelling on our differences, we are increasingly united in our interests and ideals, Bush was to say in a speech Friday in Paris that was partially released by the White House on Thursday.Bush was on a weeklong trip to Europe to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

In leaders like Berlusconi and Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, I see a commitment to a powerful and purposeful Europe that advances the values of liberty within its borders, and beyond, Bush is expected to say Friday, according to the speech released by his aides.On his visit to Italy, Bush has received a hearty welcome from the charismatic Berlusconi, an old friend, and was expected to receive the same during a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI scheduled for Friday.

Today in Europe
Irish voters reject EU treatyAn angry minister for the angry margins of FranceThe legacy question trails Bush on his European tour.On the streets, however, anti-Bush sentiment over the war in Iraq still lingers. Anti-war activists and hundreds of other demonstrators marched through the Italian capital Wednesday to protest Bush's arrival.Bush also plans to visit Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle and to make a stop in Belfast on this trip, which began at the U.S.-European Union summit meeting in Slovenia.In the speech he is to deliver in France on Friday, Bush will acknowledge that Europeans are very interested in who will succeed him in the Oval Office.When the time comes to welcome a new American president next January, I will be pleased to report to him that the relationship between the United States and Europe is the broadest and most vibrant it has ever been, the speech says.The White House has billed the Paris speech at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as the centerpiece of the trip and a way for the president to lay out his view that relations between the United States and Europe are now in a new era.

In Rome, security has been extremely tight for Bush's two-day stay. Commercial flights were banned over the city, dozens of buses and trams were rerouted and thousands of police officers were deployed, though the march Wednesday drew far fewer demonstrators than previous visits by Bush.Unlike other European leaders at the time, like Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, and Jacques Chirac, the former French president, Berlusconi supported Bush and the war in Iraq from the start. The 71-year-old Italian media mogul defied domestic opposition and dispatched about 3,000 troops to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.Those troops eventually came home, and Berlusconi, recently elected to his third stint in power since 1994, has pledged not to send them back. But Italy has deployed more than 2,000 troops as part of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.Italy, Germany, France and Spain have restricted their troops in Afghanistan to less dangerous areas in the northern part of the country. That has caused a rift with other NATO members whose troops are deployed in the more violent regions of the nation.

The Italian government has agreed to review the restrictions, and Berlusconi's office said that he would discuss the issue with Bush on this trip.Laura Bush, the president's wife, on Wednesday pledged $10.2 billion to the reconstruction of Afghanistan on behalf of the United States. She announced the donation at an international donors conference in Paris.Berlusconi and Bush were also expected to discuss Italy's interest in joining a diplomatic push, led by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany, to get Iran to abandon what the West believes is an effort to develop nuclear weapons.Stephen Hadley, the U.S. national security adviser, said the United States and its partners in the diplomatic effort on Iran expected Tehran to respond quickly to the latest incentive package, though the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has already ruled out accepting it.We'll see what happens, Hadley said. But I think you've heard a number of countries are getting ready and doing the internal processes required that, should that package be rejected - and a number of people believe it will - we are ready to go to continue the sanctions effort.Italy is one of Iran's top foreign investors. Washington had tried urging the previous government, under Romano Prodi, to be tougher on Italian companies doing business in Iran, but to little avail.

Highlights of Bush's trip to Europe By The Associated Press, Associated Press June 12, 2008 - 6:57 AM

A day-by-day look at the remainder of President Bush's trip to Europe.

Thursday, June 12:

_Meets with Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, at the presidential Quirinale Palace in Rome.

_Meets with Italy's premier, Silvio Berlusconi, at the premier's office, Palazzo Chigi, and holds a news conference.

Friday, June 13:

_Meets with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

_Speaks to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

_Has dinner with France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, at Elysee Palace.

Saturday, June 14:

_Meets with Sarkozy and holds a news conference.

_Visits a U.S. military cemetery in the Paris suburb of Suresnes and then Mont Valerien, home to a French World War II memorial.

Sunday, June 15:

_Visits Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.

_Has dinner with Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, at 10 Downing Street in London.

Monday, June 16

_Has breakfast in London with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now an envoy to the international diplomatic quartet on the Middle East.

_Holds news conference with Brown.

_Meets in Belfast at Stormont Castle with Brown and leaders of Northern Ireland to hail power-sharing agreement between Protestants and Catholics.

_Returns to Washington.

Associated Press Text of US-EU Summit Statement
Associated Press 06.10.08, 1:59 PM ET

BUSH: We spent a lot of time on Iran. I appreciate the Foreign Minister, Solana, going to Iran to deliver a clear message: there is a better way for you to move forward than a way that so far has led to isolation. Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous for world peace. And so we've got to continue to work together to make it clear, abundantly clear to them, that it's their choice to make: They can either face isolation or they can have better relations with all of us if they verifiably suspend their enrichment program.

We talked about trade and the Doha Round. We're committed to a successful Doha Round. It's not going to be easy, but it's, in our judgment, necessary that we continue to work together. I appreciate Ambassador Schwab and Commissioner Mandelson's cooperation in trying to get an agreement that we all can live with. It's really important to defeat the voices of protectionism now. And if you're truly worried about global development, if you're worried about poverty, one of the best ways to help poor people is to trade. And so we're committed to the global round.

I thought our discussions today were very good. We spent time talking about HIV/AIDS and malaria on the continent of Africa. The United States looks forward to working with EU nations to helping elevate folks from needless death. We've got a strategy in place that's effective, and we look forward to having partners join us.

And then finally, of course, we talked about energy and global climate change. I assured the leaders we have a strategy that we think will be effective at addressing global climate change, and at the same time dependence on hydrocarbons, and that is through a major economies meeting, a series of meetings, all aimed at getting the major developing - the major economies to agree to a firm goal and to commit to strategies to achieve that goal. The United States is more than willing to engage in those discussions. I will just tell you that unless China and India are at the table, unless they agree to a goal, unless they agree to firm strategies to achieve that goal, then I don't see how any international agreement can be effective.

And so therefore our strategy is to be realistic and to understand that the process is important, but not nearly as important as the results. And so we've had good engagement, Mr. Prime Minister, and Commission President Barroso. Thank you for your friendship. It's interesting, my first visit as U.S. President to Europe included a - my first stop in Slovenia. My last visit as U.S. President to Europe includes first stop in Slovenia. It's a fitting circle.

Thank you.

JANSA: Thank you.

BARROSO: Thank you Thank you, Prime Minister Jansa, President Bush. I'll start by this point. I think it's very symbolic and important that this summit here with President Bush, the last one you will be present as President of the United States, with European Union, is in Slovenia, a country that more or less 25 years ago was not yet free and independent; and today it's the presidency of the European Council, is a member of the euro zone, is a member of the Schengen area, and assuming full its responsibilities.

And let me underline this point, because it really deserves to be underlined: That would not have been possible without the European Union and without strong trans-Atlantic relationship, because during the Cold War we have always had support of the United States of America.

And this is very important to understand, for the public in Europe, and I believe also in United States, that the support of the United States of America to freedom and democracy, and, indeed, to the European integration process was very, very important, and that this great project of European integration is well and running. Fifty years ago we were six member states; now we are 27 countries. This country where we were was not a free country. My own country 45 years ago was not a democracy, and now we have from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea, democratic countries living together in peace and freedom.

This is indeed a great achievement, and this achievement was possible thanks to the commitment of founding fathers of the European Union to a united Europe, but also thanks to support of the United States of America. That's why I think it's fair to say to the United States sometimes, thank you. Thank you for all the support you have been giving to the integration and progress of democracy also in Europe.

So I believe it's important that we put all our relations in this perspective - a community of values, a community of values not only for our respective nations, but beyond - promoting and supporting a world based on human rights and democracy. President Bush and Prime Minister Jansa already spoke about the main subjects. I will not repeat what - everything they said. Let me just underline one or two points that are more in the competence of the European Commission.

On trade issues, we must work hard to achieve a fair and balanced outcome to the current round of WTO talks. The deal remains there to be done if the political will is there. I believe the deal will be good for developing countries in terms of new opportunities. It would also give a needed boost to the global economy, including the European Union and the U.S. economies. The time to move is now. We have a fair and balanced deal in our grasp that will help us face the challenges of globalization.

So I believe together United States and European Union can make a difference trying to bring others to a more realistic position so that we can achieve that deal on Doha trade and development talks.

One year ago, we have adopted a framework for advancing trans-Atlantic economic integration, and I was proud, together with President Bush and Chancellor Merkel - then President of the Council - to create a trans-Atlantic Economic Council. We have put in place a new working methods. Today I'm happy to say that in just one year of existence, this body has brought more and steadier progress on some issues than in many years before. We have made progress on other investment, on accounting standards, on finding alternative methods to animal testing, on certification of electrical equipment.

This might be seen as rather technical, but all of these developments add up to major cost savings for European Union companies and United States companies, as well. This is understood by all parties. There were reports made by the trans-Atlantic business community as estimated economic benefits of the items on our TEC - on our trans-Atlantic Economic Council agenda - as $10 billion - $10 billion in terms of savings for business on both sides of the Atlantic.

So it is fair to say that trans-Atlantic Economic Council has given new momentum to the bilateral economic agenda. Indeed, the European Union and the United States of America count for the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. trans-Atlantic trade in goods and services totals over euro1.9 billion (about $3 billion) and the figures of all bilateral trade and investment show the high degree of interdependence of our economies. The European - the United States remains the largest export destination for the European Union. In a time of important challenges to our economies, we have reaffirmed our commitment to free trade, open economies in the face of protectionist voices on both sides of the Atlantic.

The challenging economic situation makes the partnership ever more important. As we see with rising fuel and food prices, we now in Europe are discussing what are the right policy choices to increase energy diversification, energy efficiency, and also to improve food management. And we believe that these developments make it even more urgent to find a global agreement on climate change, and we spent a lot of our time discussing this.

What we have in common? The will to come to that agreement, we need that agreement to be global, so, of course, to add also China, India and others. And I believe it is important now to move ahead.

We have discussed some of the events that we are preparing like that major economies meeting and also the G8 meeting, and we hope that the United States and Europe can work even closer in this matter, because we - European and American leadership is quite clear for me that it will be easier to get that global agreement. We are trying to get it by 2009 in Copenhagen, a United Nations agreement that could, of course, create the right response, global response for a global problem in terms of climate change. We need that not only because of our responsibility towards our planet, but we need also because of energy security concerns and also because of the rising food prices and the pressure that those prices are putting on our economies, and the competitiveness of our economies.

So those were two of the subjects that we have discussed: the economic - more in detail, the economic and trade and investment relations, and also climate change. There were many others that President Bush and Prime Minister Jansa also referred, but let me congratulate you, Prime Minister Jansa, for a very successful meeting and for the high quality of the debate and the open debate that you have today.

JANSA: Now we have time for a few questions.

Q: Mr. President, as you mentioned before, this is probably your last visit in Slovenia and Europe.

BUSH: As President.

Q: As President, of course. With your past experience of last, say, eight years, how can you see the future of the European Union, and its relations with United States? There are certain problems.

BUSH: Yes, there are problems. On the other hand, there is much more that unites us than divides us. Of course there is going to be problems and differences. That's normal.

First of all, there's going to be differences within the EU. You have 27 nations all trying to come together to forge a common agenda. That's why I'd much rather have my job than Jose's job. But there will be differences. But somehow they managed to forge a common position on a lot of key issues, and that's where we discuss these issues.

And - but the thing that unites us, and this is important for all of us to realize, is that we share common values. And people say, oh, that's just corny; that doesn't mean anything. It means a lot if you believe in human rights and human dignity and rule of law and freedom to speak and freedom to worship. That's a lot. That's a foundation for a very firm and lasting relationship.

And so I am confident that whoever succeeds me as President will understand the importance of the EU in regards to United States foreign policy, and will work hard to make sure ties, you know, remain strong. But make no mistake about it - there will be differences of - on how to approach certain issues, and that's okay, just so long as we let those - don't let those differences divide us permanently, and I don't believe they possibly can.

Bush launches Europe farewell tour by Olivier Knox
Mon Jun 9, 11:30 AM ET

LJUBLJANA (AFP) - US President George W. Bush, weakened by the Iraq war and a sour US economy, launched a farewell trip to Europe Monday vowing to solidify relations and pleading for more help with Afghanistan. Bush's first destination was his last US-European Union summit near Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, followed by visits to Germany, Italy, the Vatican, France, Britain -- his final stop Belfast, Northern Ireland.I'm looking forward to meeting with our friends and allies. We've got strong relations in Europe, and this trip will help solidify those relations. And we got a lot to talk about, he said in brief departure remarks.With roughly seven months before his successor gets the keys to the White House, Bush was to push for more help with Afghanistan, more pressure on Iran while looking to paper over climate change rifts and soothe trade disputes.The countries I'm going to have committed troops to Afghanistan, and, of course, want to thank them, and remind them there's a lot of work to be done, he said. We've got a lot of work to do in Afghanistan.To underline his point, US First Lady Laura Bush paid a surprise one-day visit to the war-battered country Sunday as 19 people, including an Afghan journalist for the BBC, were killed in fresh violence.Bush, making her third such trip, said she had wanted to see progress in Afghanistan ahead of a June 12 Paris conference, where Kabul was to present a 50.1-billion-dollar (31.9-billion-euro), five-year development plan.

She saw progress, but she also saw there needs to be a lot of work to be done, the US president said in a four-minute statement as he left the White House.Bush also aimed to ensure that the European Union fully implements international sanctions on Iran over its suspect nuclear programme, and push EU members to further tighten the financial screw on Tehran, aides said.He was also seek to resolve trade disputes -- including a feud over restrictions on US poultry exports to Europe -- and dig in on his much-criticised approach to combatting climate change.Bush said he would deliver the message that We've got to keep our economies flexible; both the US economy and European economies need to be flexible in order to deal with today's challenges.It was not clear what sort of welcome the US leader would get from European counterparts already eyeing his would-be successors.I don't think you're going to see dramatic announcements, US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters last week.The trip comes amid concerns that US policy towards Iran over its nuclear drive is hardening despite the White House's public insistence that it wants to resolve the dispute diplomatically.Britain, France and Germany -- backed by China and the United States -- are preparing a fresh offer of economic and diplomatic incentives for Iran to halt uranium enrichment, and Tehran is preparing a counter-offer, said Hadley.So we'll see where we are in terms of negotiations, whether this offers some new promise or not, he said.Bush, who has explicitly refused to rule out the use of force against Iran, met this week with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and media reports said the Israeli leader pushed Washington to plan for a possible strike.Bush also aimed to sound out his hosts on the faltering Middle East peace process, difficult Western relations with Russia, buttressing Georgia in a feud with Moscow, promoting democracy in Lebanon, and engaging Serbia.