Good speech many probably missed. Gives quite a different picture of this European nation then we're used to hearing from the press.
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Speech by
Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Per Stig Møller
American Enterprise Institute
July 3, 2002
Washington, DC
Thank you for the kind introduction. It’s a privilege and great honor to address this renowned Institute and distinguished audience.
Ladies and gentlemen,
By year’s end, we hope to close the book on centuries of rift and division, creating a Europe, whole and free. That is—in all modesty—the vision of the Danish Presidency. My dream is that we will cultivate an era of enlightenment in Europe like we had before World War I, where people could travel and trade freely in Europe.
By closing, in particular, the chapters of World War I, II, and the Cold War, we may begin a new book of great promises, for Europe and for transatlantic relations. In the process we intend to forge an invincible transatlantic front against terrorism and evil. That is our vision. And it just may be possible.
In the coming six months many pieces can fall into place. By year’s end we hope to see a historical enlargement of the European Union and of NATO—bolstered by a strong partnership across the Atlantic, united by common values and beliefs. It will materialize, if we all seize the moment, if we all show resolve. Let me today present some of the elements in our vision and some of the stumbling blocks on our way.
* * *
In the aftermath of September 11, The United States experienced an overwhelming show of support and solidarity. The global alliance against terrorism was born and lives on today.
Many relationships have gone through profound changes. US relations with Russia have reached a new level and relations with moderate Arab nations are intense. But the relations between the United States and Europe remain unique—in scope, in quality, in intensity.
[Denmark and the United States]
When Denmark took over the Presidency of the EU three days ago, a long-standing ally and close friend of the United States assumed the chair. No other country has maintained unbroken diplomatic relations with the United States longer than the Kingdom of Denmark.
Denmark’s close ties with the United States and the transatlantic bonds are of paramount importance to us. We share a lot—the horrors of September 11 made that the more apparent.
I happened to be in Washington, D.C. myself on that day, and I can tell you that it is a day I’ll never forget. The Danish people seem to feel the same way. We see September 11 as an attack on everything our two nations stand for.
That is why our Special Forces have been fighting side by side with your troops in Afghanistan. That is why we are helping out in any way we can—militarily and otherwise. We lost three soldiers in Afghanistan, but we are as determined as ever to continue the fight against terrorism. We are in it for the long haul.
No wonder that the relationship between Denmark and the USA is—to paraphrase a well-known beer commercial—“probably the best”’.
[Europe and the United States]
In that light, it should come as no surprise that strengthening transatlantic relations and reinforcing the common fight against terrorism will figure prominently on our agenda for the EU Presidency.
Much has already been achieved. After September 11 the EU acted quickly and decisively, both internally and in cooperation with the United States. We rapidly adopted a European arrest warrant and negotiated an agreement between the United States and Europol. Progress in many other fields demonstrated that the EU is able to act rapidly and with resolve when called for.
During our Presidency we will push for further cooperation among our police and justice organizations and we will also increase the efforts against financing of terrorism. Work will be carried forward on a major extradition and mutual legal assistance agreement as well.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is no need to hide the fact that in a relationship as intense and encompassing as the relations between the EU and the United States, we do not always see eye to eye on everything.
On issues like biotechnology, the International Criminal Court, the Biological and Toxical Weapons Convention Protocol, the Test Ban Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, Death penalty, steel and Foreign Sales Cooperation, we clearly see things differently. And from time to time transatlantic trade disputes cloud the sky. It is of paramount importance that these disputes are managed in a constructive fashion through negotiation. I will revert to this question a little later but here I want to remind you that the nation states rule of law was not created until the strong accepted and respected the law. In the international society we today must create an international rule of law. Most countries have chosen to establish the International Criminal Court in order to enforce international law and order based on the respect of human rights. USA is fighting for human rights and democracy all over the world and has decided not to ratify the treaty of ICC, which I deeply regret. We need to find a solution and continue our common path towards peace and justice for all everywhere, and secure that the peacekeeping operations can go on.
Our different stance on a number of issues should however not be exaggerated and we must contain our differences. Let me tell you a big secret: We Europeans do sometimes disagree among ourselves! But it never threatens the viability of the EU. Equally, it is hardly surprising that transatlantic problems arise now and then without weakening our bonds. It would probably be wise to remind ourselves more often, that in more ways than one, we are each other’s creators.
It is not a well-known fact, but the United States did play an important role in the creation of what became the EU—acknowledged, even by Jean Monnet, the Father of Europe. He said: “It is the first time in history that a super power persistently and resolutely has supported the creation of a big community instead of making divide and rule the basis of its policy.”
And forty years ago, tomorrow, on Fourth of July 1962—President Kennedy delivered a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, in which he proposed a “declaration of interdependence” between a United Europe and the United States, envisioning an Atlantic partnership, concrete and beneficial to both. That vision, too, is being made into reality, albeit slowly, and step by step.
To this day, the clear American support for the European integration process, and the enlargement of NATO, precisely demonstrates genuine American engagement. Recently President Bush said about the EU: “Americans do not see the rise of a rival, we see the end of old hostilities. We see the success of our Allies, and we applaud [their] progress.”
Ladies and gentlemen,
The European Union has for long been an economic heavyweight. Politically, however, our punch is below our potential.
It is not so much a lack of want, as a lack of time. European politicians are spending an enormous amount of time on complexities of the European project, leaving less time to other issues. Though the European project in many ways is fundamentally different than the birth of your nation, I am sure your Founding Fathers would have been able to appreciate the difficulties involved.
European states still find it difficult to speak with one voice, but we are getting better day-by-day. Structural reform has increased EU efficiency. A European Security and Defense Policy—the ESDP—is emerging. We see a greater coherence between the common foreign and security policy of the Union, trade and development policies. We know more has to be done, but the trend is there. When Europe grows in unity, Europe and America both grow in security.
Europe is not being built as a counterweight to the United States. It is easy to point to voices in all countries contrasting the EU with the United States. But you will have a hard time finding a responsible politician with that approach in any European country, especially following September 11. The European identity is European—a subset of the Western civilization we all belong to. To imagine Europe as the antithesis of the American way of life is absurd.
During the Danish Presidency we will certainly be guided by the fact: As different as we are, we are building and defending the same house of freedom. We shall not be each other’s copies, but complement each other. As copies we cannot together do more than one can do. As complementaries we can do much more together.
* * *
International terrorism is a strategic threat to peace and stability. But it is also a symptom of the inherent unpredictability of the asymmetrical threats we will face in the future. The spread of weapons of mass destruction is another aspect, which nourishes unpredictability.
A larger, more flexible, and more outreaching NATO will provide us with another strong tool to deal with an increasingly unpredictable security environment. At the NATO Summit in Prague our aim should be to preserve NATO as the core security provider of the Euro-Atlantic area. Time is ready for an ambitious enlargement decision in Prague. Aspirants and NATO are well prepared and we should aim at inviting up to seven new members.
Thus, the historic window of opportunity for creating a truly free and whole Europe must not be missed. The EU accession negotiations must be finalized at the EU Summit in Copenhagen in December—the same place where the enlargement process was initiated some 10 years ago. We aim to close the circle: From Copenhagen to Copenhagen.
[Global questions]
Other areas of focus on the Transatlantic Agenda will be cooperation with Russia, trade issues and the Johannesburg Summit - and of course the Middle East. In this regard I welcome the recent speech on the Middle East by President Bush. A strong, determined American engagement in solving this conflict is paramount, and together with the EU and the other actors in the Middle East Quartet we must start a new, concrete and realistic process in order to engage the parties in real negotiations. First, we must work for the resumption of political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. A political perspective of a Palestinian State must be established. And secondly, we must press for reforms of the Palestinian Authority. We must ensure that the Palestinian leadership keeps its promise and let elections be held in the near future. But Palestinian elections also demand concessions from the Israeli side. Israel should withdraw its forces from the Palestinian self-rule areas if elections are to take place.
* * *
Whenever the US and the EU agree, we move things forward. Look at Doha and Monterrey. Whenever we do not, little or nothing moves—or it moves in an undesired direction—or others can play one against the other.
The Johannesburg Summit is the place where we take stock of developments in trade and in financing for development. The developed countries must break the link between economic growth and use of resources. And the developing countries must enhance good governance to be able to benefit from trade and finance. We not only want—but we need—the United States to be a full partner in this process. We must move the process forward together. I hope this cooperation will be fruitful, so that the global alliance against terrorism will also be a global alliance against poverty!
Poverty does not create terror or justify it. But poverty may fuel terror. And we can only stop this if Europe and the United States pool their resources. We share a joint responsibility to shoulder the problems of poverty—through expansion of trade, access to our markets and by increasing the levels of development assistance. The willingness of the United States to increase its core development assistance by 50 percent over the next three years is a major step.
[Stereotypes]
The last issue, I wish to touch upon, is that of stereotypes.
Mutual trust and confidence is a prerequisite for close cooperation. Unfortunately stereotypes of the unilateralist, trigger-happy, lone ranger United States with “the ugly Americans” and the soft, complacent and uncoordinated EU with “the nice Europeans” have somewhat influenced the media. Recently a picture of an anti-Semitic and xenophobic Europe has also found its way into the American media.
There is nothing new in these stereotypes. Our common history contains numerous examples of these. To some extent they do reflect differences in policy and in risk perceptions, basic differences in history and the way we express ourselves.
Let me dwell on one of the stereotypesone you will hear daily, both here and in Europe. And that is: Europeans and many others are multilateralists, the Americans unilateralists.
Well, first of all, it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about history and international relations – or for that matter about domestic politics—that smaller entities are more keen on cooperation than larger entities, having the capacity to go it alone. We in Denmark are now more cooperative, than when we were Vikings and ruled most of the known world.
Secondly, even taking this basic fact into consideration, the multilateral/ unilateralist dichotomy, is false. It is not “either or”. No country—not even Denmark—is multilateral in all instances and no country, and certainly not the United States, is unilateral in all instances. Even if the US is the only superpower, it knows it can not go it alone
So, what we should do is avoid subscribing to superficial labeling, but enter into the substance, in each case, issue by issue. In this way, we will look at a positive agenda, an agenda that will further the United States’ interests in Europe and Europe’s interests in the United States. We must all know that no state in the long run can go on alone and friendless.
On the trade side, I believe we have become better in the last two years in identifying the problems at an early stage and trying to set procedures in action to solve or alleviate the problems stemming from a few percent of our two trillion dollars Atlantic relationship. Perhaps, in other areas, we should learn from our early warning experiences here.
To counter the stereotypes we must time and time again stress, that what unites us is far more important than what divides us. The answer to our differences is not confrontation, but reinforced dialogue and consultations. Intensified commercial relations are an effective vaccination against states drifting apart.
But the danger is that the stereotypes take on a life of their own and start influencing policy makers. The challenge is to manage this skillfully, so that we have dialogue instead of fruitless confrontation accepting that sometimes we have to “agree to disagree”. Let us not confuse disagreement on methods or priorities with disagreement on substance, but rather accept that different perceptions and even policies often allow for complementary actions, reinforcing each other. And let us develop and respect dispute-settling mechanisms, so that we can settle our disputes in a just and friendly way.
As Secretary Powell stated in “My American Journey”: “The new order will be defined by trade relations, by the flow of information, capital, technology, and goods, rather than by armies glaring at each other across borders. Nations seeking power through military strength, the development of nuclear weapons, terrorism, or tyrannical governments are mining “fool’s gold”. They can never hope to match the military and economic power of the free world led by the United States”.
In this new world Europe and the United States stand to gain if we stick together, complement each other and pool our resources. If we get closer, unite more, we will stand. If we divide, we will fail and the world will fall.
By the end of this year, we can have made progress in the fight against terrorism, and hopefully have decided upon an enlarged EU and NATO that will pave the way for a Europe whole and free. Progress can be made in regional conflicts such as the Middle East to the benefit of the Arabs and Israelis alike. And we can look back on a successful Johannesburg Summit to the benefit of the Developing World. It is up to us to seize this unique historic opportunity. In this endeavor we depend upon the engagement of the United States.
In his book “Decisive moments in History” Austrian writer Stefan Zweig describes episodes where fate and circumstances give you a unique opportunity to make a historical difference. But one must show resolve and seize the moment. Or as Bismarck said: “Seize the mantle of God”. The moment and the mantle are here now, so let us seize them together!
We politicians cannot hope for doing more than that.
Thank you for your attention. |
